


foreign exchange

by mercilarry



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Football | Soccer, High School, I tried really hard, Larry Stylinson Is Real, Major Character(s), Major Original Character(s), Minor Injuries, Minor Original Character(s), No Sex, No Smut, Not Beta Read, Not Famous, Student Harry, Students, THIS WAS ON WATTPAD, big house, foreign exchange, im working on it, its just not in the story yet, theyre all students
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2015-11-16
Packaged: 2018-05-01 23:49:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 29,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5225864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mercilarry/pseuds/mercilarry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You will never be completely at home again because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. This is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place."<br/>-<br/>-<br/>Or the one where Louis Tomlinson and his family hosts a foreign exchange student. That's it really.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. prologue

I was sitting on my bed in my room, browsing some clothing site, just shopping. Then my door knocked.

"Come in!" I announced lazily.

"Annabelle, there's a letter for you," my mom said, walking in my room and sitting on my double sized bed. I shut my laptop and looked at her, confused. She handed me the letter.

I looked at the front. 'Annabelle Moore' was written in the center. There was no return address, making me curious. I ripped it open quickly, anxious to see what was in the envelope. There was a huge packet. I scanned trough the packet, to find out that it was a Foreign Exchange Student Program.

"Mom, it's a foreign exchange student program! There's over thirteen countries to choose from! Can I go?" I asked.

"Foreign exchange student?" she asked, leaning towards me to look at the paper. I nodded, smiling.

"You know I've always loved travelling, and it'd be fun!" I exclaimed, getting hopeful.

"We'll talk to your father at dinner tonight," she sighs.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" I exclaimed, hugging and kissing her on the top of her head.

"It doesn't mean that it's a yes!"

"You're considering it though!" I said, watching my mom leave. I opened up my laptop, and typed in the URL to get to the website of the organization. Browsing the country options, most of them were in Europe. France, Germany, Japan, England, Ireland, Sweden. I stopped at England. I read through the program, and decide that if I can go that'd be the country. I continued to browse through the website, until my mom called me for dinner.

I shut my laptop, walked out of my room and down the stairs into the living room. I walked out of the living room and into the kitchen, washing my hands and sitting at the table, across from my parents.

I started to load up my plate with ravioli and sauce, some salad, and homemade breadsticks. I filled my glass with some apple juice.

My mom started to explain what happened earlier that afternoon, and I looked at my dad, studying his face. He doesn't seem angry. Maybe this will work out!

"Going on exchange?" he asked, "Hmm..."

"I was looking at the website this afternoon, and I think I want to go to England. It'd be from late July to mid-June, I would attend school, and it'd be amazing!" I said, hoping to convince my parents.

"How much money is it?" my mom asked, not that it was a big deal. Both of my parents are surgeons. My dad was a neurosurgeon, and my mom was a cardiothoracic surgeon. They worked in Seattle's biggest hospital. It's how they met.

"It'd be fifteen thousand, but you would have to also give me money every month for my spending," I said, looking up at them.

"Fifteen thousand?" my dad asked. I nodded.

"That's honestly not as bad as I thought," my mom said.

"We'll talk about it tonight, and let you know later on," my dad said. My face lit up, smiling. I finished my dinner, then did the dishes and put away any leftovers. I sat on the couch with my phone. I pulled up Grey's Anatomy on the television, waiting for my parent's answer.

Exactly two hours, thirty-eight minutes, and sixteen seconds later, my parents walked in, sitting on the loveseat. I paused the show, turned on the light, and looked at them expectantly.

"We've decided," my dad said, looking from me to my mother.

"And?" I asked.

"You can go, because it will look good on your college application, you love to travel, and this will be an amazing opportunity for you." my mom said.

"Wait, really?" I asked.

"Yes, England seems like a great place for you."

"Thank you so much! You won't regret it!" I exclaimed, running upstairs and grabbing my laptop, running back down and plopping myself on their laps. I pulled out the website and we started to apply.

"Name? Annabelle Moore. Age? Sixteen," we filled out the application together. I had to submit a photo. Once we had finished, the organization sent me an email about what to do next. I had to write three essays. Once I had done that, then I wait for a host family to choose me. I was very excited.

**two months later**

I had just woke up from a very nice sleep. I checked my phone for the time '1:09 am, February 17, 2014' it read. I unlocked the iPhone, seeing that I had a new email. I sat up in my bed, and opened it.

To: annabellemoore@email.com

From: afsexchange@email.com

Dear Miss Moore,

We are very happy to announce that you will be going on exchange to England! Your host family is the Tomlinson family.

I stopped reading, way too excited. I jumped out of bed, running into my parents room and opening the door. I jumped up onto their bed, jumping up and down.

"I got a host family!" I yelled, jumping up and down. "I know you guys value your sleep, but this is way too exciting!"

"You did?" my dad asked, rubbing his eyes. I nodded.

"That's amazing honey, but I need to be at the hospital at five for a surgery, so we can celebrate after school today?" my mom asked.

"Okay!" I said. "I'm going to email them right now!"

"Make sure you get some sleep!" my father added as I left their room.

I finished reading the email from the organization. They had sent me the email address of I think my host mother.

Here's the email I sent her:

Dear Ms. Tomlinson (or Deakin),

Hi! My name is Annabelle Moore, and I'm going to be your exchange student for eleven months! I presume that you've read my essays, but this seems more personal. I'm sixteen, I live in Seattle, Washington, and I love to play soccer (football, I guess!). I'm an only child to two surgeons, and I have a pet cat named Maude.

I cannot wait to come and be a part of your family,

Annabelle

I put my phone down, and tried to sleep. But I was too excited. Then I felt my phone vibrate. It was an email from my host family!

Dearest Annabelle,

Hello from Doncaster, England! My family and I are very excited to have you for the year. My name is Johannah Deakin! I have five kids, Louis who turned 18 in December and will be in his last year of high school when you are here, Charlotte (Lottie), who is 15 and will be a year under you, Felicite (Fizzy) who is 13, and Daisy and Pheobe who are 10. We do not have any pets, but according to Louis, he has four. Louis is on the school's footie team, and he is the most excited to have you here. The girls are too, but Louis is excited to "finally have someone to play footie with!" Anyways, we are very excited to meet you!

We will talk very soon Annabelle,

Johannah

I smiled reading the email. I cannot believe that I'm going on exchange in England!

I was so excited I did not sleep a wink that night.


	2. one

This day had been circled on my calendar for months. July 18, 2014. My departure date. My family had thrown me a going away party for me and all of my friends came yesterday. I had all of my things packed, but I had sent some jackets and shoes to Doncaster earlier this month.

I woke up to my alarm, groaning. Once I realized that it was departure date, I was honestly too excited to care that it was four in the morning and my flight left at seven for Boston. In Boston, I would meet all of the other people going on exchange and we would have orientation. Then that night, we would stay in Boston and finish our orientations that day. Then some people would leave that night, and others the next morning. I leave that night for London.

I stepped out of my bed for the last time in eleven months, and made it. I grabbed my phone and unplugged the charger, throwing it in my carry on. I went into my closet, put on some floral shorts, a white tank top and an army green jacket in case if I get cold. I brush out my long black hair, then throw it up in a top knot. I grab my sunglasses, put those in my carry on, and put on a pair of gold sandals. I check my phone for any emails.

Two New Emails! It read. I click on the first one, from Louis. We've been talking a lot since I first found out that he was going to be my host brother.

Hey Anna,

T minus forty eight hours until we finally meet! We have your room all set up and the girls are super excited to meet you. We have the boxes that you sent in your room. I cannot wait to meet you! I have told my friends (Zayn, Liam, and Harry) about you and they are really excited too. Liam's excited because he's hosting an exchange student from Ireland! His name is Niall, and apparently he likes footie as much as we do!

see you soon, (I cannot believe I said those words!!)

Louis

I open the next one, from Johannah.

Hey Annabelle,

We are so excited to have you in our home for the year! We are all set up, is there anything you would like for dinner when you get here?

xoxo,

Johannah

I laughed at Johannahs' email, and replied saying to surprise me with an English dinner. I grab my portable phone charger, and put it in my bag. I grab my suitcase and my carry on and bring it to the kitchen. My mom is making waffles. I take a seat at the island.

"Are you excited?" she asked. I nodded, wanting to be asleep.

"Where's dad?" I asked.

"Oh, he had an emergency surgery and got paged to the hospital. He promised he'll make it to the airport," she said, handing me a plate of waffles and strawberries.

"Why couldn't Dr. Harris do the surgery?" I asked. Dr. Harris was the hospital's other neurosurgeon.

"He's on vacation in Canada, honey. The airport is right next to the hospital, he'll make it." I ate my waffles, just talking with my mom.

After I ate and said goodbye to Maude, I packed my suitcase (which was quite heavy thank you) and my carry on in the back of the car. I got in the front, and put my jacket over me like a blanket. My mom sat in the car, and handed me my Beats.

"Forgot something?" she asked. I took them, and smiled at her in saying thanks. We decided to stop at Starbucks to get some much needed coffee. My mom handed me my iced coffee, which I finished in time to get to the airport.

I went through security fairly effortlessly, and was hanging out in the waiting area for my Dad and my flight to be called. I still had an hour and a half.

"He's going to come, Anna," my mom said. I nodded. "Do you have your passport?" another nod. "Paperwork? Your organization badge and lanyard? Nametag?"

"Yes mom."

"There he is!" she exclaimed.

"Dad?" I asked, looking up to see my father in his hospital scrubs and surgical cap.

"Sweetie, I would never miss your departure," he said, giving me a hug.

"I know, but it was scary thinking if you did."

My mom (being the embarrassing mother she is) had a stranger take a picture of the three of us. Knowing her, she probably posted it to Facebook. My flight was called, and I grabbed my carry on and gave my parents one last hug. They wished me luck, and as I walked away I could hear my Dad say, "Now I've got to get back to that surgery!"

Then my mom said, "Joseph! You do not leave a patient open on the operating table! Especially with brain surgery!"

"It's fine Elise, he was stable and I could not miss my daughter leaving for exchange."

I give the lady my ticket, and walk along the little hallway. I touch the outside of the plane before getting in, a sign of good luck, and find my seat, a window seat. I grab my laptop out of my bag and wait to take off.

A boy comes and sits next to me. "Hello," he says.

"Hi," I say, taking off my headphones and putting them around my neck.

"I'm Carson," he said. He looked about my age, blonde hair and brown eyes.

"Annabelle," I smiled, shaking his hand.

"Why are you going to Boston?" he asked.

"I'm leaving to go on exchange for a year so I have orientation in Boston and then I leave for my host family," I answered.

"You're going on exchange?" he asked.

"Yeah! To Doncaster, England. I fly from Boston to London then I take a train from London to Doncaster."

"I'm leaving my exchange to go back home," he said, sadly.

"You were on exchange in Seattle?" I ask.

"No, Japan actually. I live in Boston."

"That's amazing." We talked for our flight, and ended up exchanging Skypes, Twitters, Instagrams, and Facebooks. Carson gave me some tips about going on exchange, and before we knew it, out five our flight was over.

I stepped out of the plane, stopping at the gate. I gave Carson a hug goodbye. I grabbed my badge for the organization and tossed the lanyard around my neck. I put my headphones in my hand, and walked over to baggage claim to grab my bag. Once I had retrieved the suitcase, I looked for a person. I didn't know who.

A man that looked in his early twenties had a piece of paper that said "AFS exchange" on it. I presumed that was where I needed to go.

"Hello! I am Michael and I will be your orientater. What's your name?" he asked, very cheerily.

"I'm Annabelle," I said. I saw a group of teens right next to him.

"Welcome to Exchange Orientation! This is Micah, James, and Grace. They are the other students that will be attending orientation here in Boston. Let's go to the van and get to the hotel, shall we?" I nod, readjusting my backpack.

There was an eight passenger van that Michael brought us to. I put my suitcase in the back, and checked my phone. It said it was 12:15, but there was a time difference.

"Does anyone know how to change a clock on my phone?" I asked once I was sat down in the van.

"I do," the other girl said. Grace, I think her name was. I handed her my phone, and she gave it back to be shortly after.

The ride was silent, until Michael broke it. "Where are you guys from?" he asked.

"Seattle," I said.

"Detroit," Grace said.

"New York," Micah said.

"Miami," James said.

"And where are you all going on exchange?"

"England," I said. I learned that Grace is going to Ireland, Micah to Germany, and James to France.

Once we arrived at the hotel, we were brought to our rooms. Grace and I were sharing a room, and James and Micah were sharing. We grabbed a so-called "early" dinner (I was starving) at a restaurant right outside the hotel. I ordered some clam chowder in a bread bowl because what else do you get while in Boston? After we all ate, we went back to the hotel and into a conference room.

We learned about some rules, like how we had to pay for most everything, and we had to respect the family's rules. If we were not compatible with our family we could switch, blah blah blah. No dating anyone in our house, handbooks, more rules.

Then, at 9:00, we were sent to bed. I was obviously not tired because it was 6:00 in Seattle. I went into our room, and opened my bag to grab my laptop and some pajamas. "Do you mind if I shower?" I ask Grace.

"No, go ahead." I went into the very nice bathroom and quickly showered. I changed into some leggings, and a shirt from soccer. I brushed my hair out and braided it. I sat back down on the hotel bed and opened my laptop, checking Facebook.

You Were Tagged In One Photo:

Elise Moore: It's a sad and happy day in the Moore family. This is a picture of our family, Joseph left work to come, before our daughter Annabelle Moore left for England to spend eleven months with Johannah Deakin ! Anna, I wish you the best of luck while you are away. Love always, Mom and Dad.

There were many posts from my friends saying how they will miss me. The one I loved the most was from my best friend, Sadie. She sent me a message.

Sadie: How's Boston?  
Annabelle: Alright, orientation is slightly boring though  
Sadie: Well there's almost twenty four hours until you meet your host family!  
Annabelle: Also twenty-four hours until we're 4600 miles away  
Sadie: Don't you dare get sad on me Annabelle. You are going to have an amazing time!  
Annabelle: Okay, but I need to try and sleep. It's etching on 11 here haha  
Sadie: Love you pretty one!  
Annabelle: xo

***

When I woke, I was being awaken by Grace. "We have to be in the conference room in an hour. Want to get dressed and grab breakfast together?"

"Oh, um, sure," I said, stretching. I thank her for waking me up, and get dressed into a coral sundress and my gold sandals. I let my naturally wavy hair do its own thing, and put on a brown sun hat. Once Grace is ready, I grabbed my phone and we go down into the breakfast buffet.

I grabbed some oatmeal, and added cinnamon and blueberries. I also grabbed a glass of orange juice and some bacon. We find Micah and James eating and sit next to them.

"So, who's leaving tonight?" Micah asks.

"I am," I say. Micah is too, so we will be flying to London together before I take the train to Doncaster and he goes to Germany. Michael came into the dining area shortly after Grace and I did, and he sat down next to me.

"Oreintation is only four hours today, so you can either sleep or just hang out until your flights. Annabelle and Micah, I recommend sleeping because when you guys arrive, it will be morning."

I nod, eating my oatmeal. Once we all finished, we went back up to the conference room to be bored for four hours.

Once we were finally let out, we went to a restaurant in Boston and got lunch. I got some spaghetti. Micah and I were taken back to the hotel to try and sleep. Once back in the room, I checked my phone. Louis had emailed me.

Annabelle,

You are so close yet so far away! How was orientation? It sounds boring haha! I just wanted to say hello, I cannot wait to see you!

Louis

I replied with a 'very boring, Louis, cannot wait to see you xx', and then decided to sleep.

***

"Come on Annabelle, you have an hour until you need to be at the airport!" I hear a girl's voice. I opened my eyes.

"Thanks for keeping me on track, Grace."

"You really need to learn how to set alarms," Grace laughed. "I packed your bag. Put this on, call your parents, and for heaven's sake, give me a hug!" she threw some clothes at me. I thank her and give Grace a big hug.

I put on the palm-tree printed romper, my gold sandals, a flower crown, and grabbed my sunglasses. I walked out of the bathroom, and Grace handed me my phone."Call your mother and father."

I dial the hospital number, because I knew they'd both be there. "Hello, Seattle Hospital."

"Hi Sara, I need both Dr. Moore's please," I laughed.

"Hi Annabelle! I heard you were going on exchange?" Sara, the receptionist asked.

"I'm leaving in twenty minutes. Can I talk to my parents?"

"Of course sweetie, I'll send you down to the surgical wing and have them set you up with a three way call."

"Thank you." I hear the line go silent, then it rings again. I hear someone pick it up and say,

"Dr. Moore, the phone."

"Who is it?"

"Your daughter."

"Put it on speaker Jenni." The same thing happens with my mom's line.

"Hi!" I said.

"Hi sweetie! My parents chorus. I also hear some hellos from their surgical teams. I talked to them for awhile, and they wished me luck and told me to call as soon as I could. I said goodbye, and Michael came to grab me.

"Ready Miss Moore?"

"I was born ready," I replied. I grabbed my suitcase and backpack. I gave Grace a big hug and promised to talk to her soon. Micah was waiting in the hallway, and we got into the van to head back to the airport.

We went through security, showed our passports and got on the plane. Micah and I sat together for the six hour flight. I slept the entire way, listening to The Script.

"Annabelle, we've arrived in London!" Micah exclaims, gently shaking me awake. I smiled, stepping out of the plane and stretching. I walked to baggage claim to get my huge suitcase. I was supposed to look for my advisor, who helps with anything I need while I was there. But I noticed a pretzel place, and suddenly get hungry. I decided to find my advisor first and then get money to get pretzels. I saw a young man holding a sign that said my name on it. I walked over to him and greeted him.

"Welcome to London, Annabelle. I am Ben, your advisor. Do you need anything before we head to Doncaster to meet your host family?" Ben, my advisor said.

"Actually, I could use some pounds because I saw the pretzel place and they look amazing!" I replied, pulling out my debit card. My parents put money on it, and will every month.

"It should be already in pounds," Ben said, "But pretzels are a great breakfast!"

"They sounded good!" I defended. I went over to the pretzel place and bought pretzel bites with mustard. I grabbed my suitcase and said, "Judge me," as I popped a pretzel bite in my mouth.

The airport we were at was also a train station, so we boarded our train to Doncaster, which will take an hour. It was surprisingly sunny out. I ate my pretzels quickly. Ben asked me questions on the train as my anticipation grew. I knew I liked the family through email, but would it be different in person? Maybe they wouldn't like me? I try to shake the thoughts out of my head as we approach the stop. My heart feels like it's beating a million miles an hour. I glance out the window to see a family of seven, which then I knew was my host family. I grabbed my suitcase and walked out the train, still scared. Ben flashed me a reassuring smile.

I walked down the platform towards my family. Out of nowheres, I felt two people hugging me. It scared me at first, which I guess Johannah noticed, because she was chasing after the girls, saying "Girls! Give Annabelle some space!" Immediately, the twins backed off.

"Sorry Annabelle," they said in unison. I laughed, crouching down and giving them a hug.

"Nice to meet you!" I said. They had very big smiles on their faces. Johannah offered to take my suitcase, which I let her.

"I have gifts for everyone somewhere in that suitcase," I laughed, gesturing towards the suitcase in Johannahs' hand.

"Annabelle, I have some paperwork for you to do for school. You can give it to me next time we meet, if you have any issues, don't hesitate to call." Ben said. I took the paperwork and waved goodbye.

"I'm Jay, this is Dan, my husband, Louis, who will be at school with you, Lottie, Fizzy, and the two that attacked you are Daisy and Phoebe!" Johannah announced. I gave everyone a hug. Louis took my luggage from Johannah and led me to their car.

"I'm so happy you're finally here!" he said, smiling and putting my luggage in the back.

"Me too," I said.

"Want to go play some footie when we get home?" Louis asked.

"Louis! Don't you think that maybe Annabelle would like some rest?" Jay scolded. Louis looked at me, and shrugged, smiling.

My mind was caught on a word Louis had said. Home. I started to think that even though Seattle may be home, I may start to begin to think of Doncaster to be home as well.


	3. two

The drive to my new home was a noisy one. Going from being an only child to being surrounded by five host siblings will definitely take some adjustment. I was sat in the mini van's back row, squished between Louis and Daisy. At least I hoped it was Daisy. "So Annabelle, how was your flight?" Louis asked me.

"Which one?" I laughed.

"All of them," Louis smiled as he talked.

"Well, from Seattle to Boston I met a boy," the girls cooed at me, "his name is Carson, and he told me that he was leaving exchange in Japan to go home. Boston was quite boring, but a girl named Grace had orientation with me and she basically kept me on track. I got to call my parents right before I left, they both were in surgery so I was talking to their entire surgical team. The flight from Boston to London seemed short, I slept the entire way. It was a little cramped now that I think about it. The train ride was the most agonizing thing ever, I was so nervous."

"We're glad you got here safely, Annabelle," Dan said, looking at me in the rearview mirror. I couldn't help but look out the window. The town wasn't rural, but it wasn't urban, either. I guess you would've called it suburban. We continued to drive for awhile, which included me being asked many questions.

"Any foods you don't like?" That was Lottie.

"I'm not a fan of pork, but that's it."

"Did you have to wear a uniform at school?" Daisy asked me.

"No, but now I do!" I laughed.

"Do you have a boyfriend back in America?" Fizzy asked.

"Felicite!" Jay scolded.

"It's fine, and no I do not," I laughed.

"Welcome to your new home, Annabelle," Dan announced, turning down a long driveway. The house was set in a field, surrounded by woods. It was a two story house, with a wrap around porch. I stepped out of the van after Daisy, and grabbed my bags from the back.

"Louis, will you show Annabelle to her room and give her a tour?" Jay asked. Louis nodded. I grabbed my suitcase, rolling it onto the porch with minimal struggle. Louis noticed my struggles, and grabbed the bad from me.

"You packed like you're moving in!" he laughed.

"Very funny, Tomlinson." We walked in the front door, meeting a small hallway with a set of stairs. Louis walked up the stairs, which led to a 'u' shaped hallway, overlooking the first floor. He took a right, and led me to a door right before the turn in the hallway. He opened the door, gesturing for me to walk in. I thank him, and go into my room.

The walls were white with a gold trim on the bottom. There was a double bed in the middle of the room, on a small dark wood platform. The four poster double bed sat in the middle of the paltform, with white drapes hanging from it. There were windows on either side of the bed, looking out to the big backyard. There was a television above a dresser right across the bed, and a desk to the right of the bed with a nice chair. There was a white couch on the other wall, with a bookcase next to it. There was a door to the right of the desk. "What's that?" I asked.

"Go look and see," Louis said, walking in and opening the door. It was a bathroom! There was a white marble counter and sink with a mirror above it. Next to that was the toilet, and across from that was the very nice shower. "If you plug your phone into the cord on the sink counter, the music will play through the speakers in the shower. We recently re-did the upstairs and this was what the girls wanted in each bathroom," Louis laughed.

"This is amazing," I said, looking around.

"So, do you want the grand tour or do you want to unpack?" Louis asked, leaning against the door frame. I told him that I could unpack later.

Louis took me downstairs in front of the door. "Obviously the front door," he then took a left and led me into a little living room area. "This is where we play video games, and have family meetings," he then went straight through the room into the kitchen, which had an island in it. "Best room in the house, right above the fridge is the snack cabinet. Very important information," he laughed. There was a sliding door near the counters, which led to a back porch. He took a right from the kitchen into a dining room. "Where we have weekend lunches and dinner. We usually eat breakfast at the island," he went out another door, into another living room, just bigger. "Usually this is what mom and Dan use, because the kids like the video games," he laughed. We went out the other door which led to the stairway. He told me the hallway led to the kitchen. He walked up the stairs and took a left. You can see the mini living room from the upstairs. "Bathroom, my room, the twin's room, Fizzy's room, your room, Lottie, then mum and Dan's," Louis said, pointing to each door.

"Now for the fun part," Louis said, walking out the sliding door and onto the porch. "Hot tub," he said, pointing to it. He walked off the porch, waving his hand for me to follow. There was a playground to the left, and some swings to the right. Louis led me to the edge of the forest.

"Is this where you kill me and leave me in the forest?" I questioned.

"What? No! Come on, I think you'll like this." Louis led me down a small path, which, after walking awhile, led to a small pond with a waterfall. "Dan built it when he married my mom, it's safe to swim in, it's so great. But this is now what I wanted to show you," he said, walking under the waterfall and on the trail. The trail opened up into a field. A full sized soccer field.

"A soccer field? This is amazing, Louis!"

"A footie field actually, it's kind of my escape place, but I'll be willing to share it with you." Louis' phone rang. "Hi, mum. No I was showing her the footie field, we'll be right in," he hangs up the phone and put it back in his jeans pocket. "My mum and Dan want to go through the rules in the living room."

"Okay," I said. I expected a family meeting, it was one of the many things we talked about in orientation. Louis led me through the small path, under the watefall, continuing on the path until we get to the back porch. I went into the small living room, to see everyone sitting on the couches.

"Come sit next to us, Annabelle!" Phoebe said, patting next to her and smiling widely. I smile and take a seat. Louis sits in the recliner next to the couch I was on. Jay had a piece of paper in her hands.

"Before you get too settled in, Annabelle, we just wanted to go over the fmaily rules with you," Jay said.

"Of course, if I'm going to be a part of this family, I shouldn't be treated specially," I said.

"So here are the rules, your curfew will be nine on school nights and eleven on weekends. Obviously no drinking or anything illegal, no swearing, homework is not to be done on your bed, we leave for school by eight so you should be down here and ready. Only snacks in your room, and then we all rotate helping making dinner each night, so you can hop in on the rotation, Annabelle. You are responsible for your own laundry, making your bed and keeping your room clean. Kids, anything else?" Jay listed off.

"No phones in our rooms past nine," Louis said.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"Basically, mum says that phones are a distraction from sleep so there's a table that we all charge our phones at upstairs for the night. Your laptop is fine as long as you don't use it after nine," Lottie pipped up.

"Okay," I said, taking a deep breath. Each family has its own rules, Anna. I looked at the clock above the television stand. 10:00 it read.

"Also, Ben told us that we shouldn't let you have any contact with anyone from your home for two weeks, but we decided that that is not a good idea," Jay said.

"Is that so I don't get homesick?" I asked.

"I think so, but you can talk to anyone you want as long as we keep this from Ben," Jay laughed.

"If I was going to be homesick, I would not have chosen to do this."

"That's why it's crazy," Jay said.

"Do you mind if I go and unpack?" I asked.

"Not at all! Louis, why don't you show Annabelle where she can put her shoes?" Dan said.

Louis led me to the hallway near the stairs. He opened a door under the stairs. "This is where we keep our shoes."

"Thanks," I said. I walked upstairs and into my room. I pulled my suitcase onto the made bed, opening it up. My laptop was sat right on top, so I grabbed it and put it on my desk. I grabbed my charger from my backpack and plugged it in. I bought a converter before I came here. I open up my music, and start to play Imagine Dragons. I opened the box with all of my shoes and brought them downstairs to where Louis showed me.

On my way back to my room, I see Fizzy. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"You want to help me unpack?" I asked, slightly surprised.

"Why not? I have nothing to do! It'd be fun to see all of your clothes," she smilied, skipping towards my room. She opened the door. "Oh! Louis likes this song!"

"Really?" I asked, putting another box on the bed. I think that one had jackets and some decorations. Only two jackets, but they're hard to pack so I sent them before arrival. Fizzy sat on my bed, pulling out the first thing she saw.

"How about I organize everything, and you can put it away," she offered. I smiled and nodded. I opened the box. I pulled out some pictures. Many of me and Sadie from homecoming, or just hanging around. I brought one from when I got to go into work with my parents so we took a picture. We were all in matching scrubs, it was kind of cute. I put those on top of my dressor, and brought one of my soccer team on my desk. I brought some professionally done ones of me and Sadie and put it on the sink counter in the bathroom.

Fizzy got up from her organizing and looks at the pictures. "Who's that?" she asks.

"That's a picture of Sadie, my best friend, we were going to a school dance," I explained.

"You looked really pretty in that picture," she said.

"Thank you," I replied. I took some of the shirts Fizzy had organized and folded them. I then put them in the dresser. We continued this until lunch was called, around one.

We went into the dining room, and I sat next to Louis and Daisy. There was an array of sandwiches, potato chips, and some salad. There was an array of drinks as well. Everyone started grabbing some sandwiches. I was a tad overwhelmed just because I was not used to having this many people at meals. "Don't be shy, Anna," Louis whispered, grabbing a handful of chips. Crisps I guess? I nodded, hesitantly grabbing a tuna sandwich and some chips. Crisps, Anna. You're in England.

"How is unpacking going?" Jay asked in between bites. I finished mine.

"Very well, Fizzy has been helping me. You suppose we're what- half done?" I looked at Fizzy across the table from me.

"Yeah! Annabelle has a fantastic style," Fizzy said. I'm still in my romper from Boston. I decided to shower after I finished unpacking.

"Really?" Lottie asked, picking some tomatoes out of her salad.

"Yeah! You should help after lunch, Lottie," Fizzy said.

"Why not?" Lottie said.

"Can we come too?" Daisy asked next to me.

"I don't know how helpful you will be, but sure!" Fizzy laughed.

"So, Annabelle, I figured that we could go shopping tomorrow to get you anything you needed? Actually, Louis, do you think you could take her? I have some phone calls to make tomorrow," Jay said.

"Sure," Louis said, "May I be excused?" Dan nodded, and Louis took his dishes to the kitchen.

"What do you want to do for your birthday, Annabelle?" Jay asked, looking up from her plate.

"Oh, um, anything? I mean I don't have any friends yet and I don't want to pressure you guys. What's today's date by the way?"

"It's the nineteenth of July. Your birthday is in a week. What if we do a barbeque here? It can be small, just our family and then some of the kid's friends. Maybe you'll become friends with Louis' friends!"

"We could go swimming in the pond and play footie?" I ask.

"That sounds lovely. What kind of cake would you like?"

"Mum's an excellent baker," Daisy whispered to me. I told Jay a vanilla cake with chocolate frosting is my favorite, and finish my lunch. I excuse myself and put my dishes in the dishwasher. I went back into my room to find the girls there. Imagine Dragons were not playing, instead it was Fifth Harmony. "This music is so much better," Daisy noticed.

We finished unpacking, and I finally got to shower after 3,000 miles.

**one week later**

I have been adjusting really well to the time difference and just being in this family. I feel very settled. I was laying asleep in my bed, until I wasn't.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNABELLE!" I was woken very abruptly by yelling, the ringing of bells, and people blowing noise makers. I groan, and turn onto my other side. Until everyone starts jumping on my bed.

"Guys!" I laughed, sitting up. Everyone stopped immediately. "What time is it?"

"Seven," Phoebe said.

"You woke me up on a Saturday at seven?" I joked.

"Yes, because it's your birthday!" Jay exclaimed. At that moment, everyone started singing happy birthday. Once they were done, Jay told me to shower and then come downstairs for breakfast. After everyone left my room, I went into the hallway to grab my phone, seeing some notifications. I checked Facebook first.

You Were Tagged in Three Photos:

Elise Moore: Happy seventeenth birthday to my daughter, Annabelle Moore ! The first picture is from the last time we saw our daughter before her heading off to live in England! We love and miss you very much baby xoxo

Sadie Haselbeth: A very big happy birthday to my best friend, who is seventeen today! I can not wait to see your gorgeous face soon enjoy England! xo

The picture was of me and Sadie at homecoming, making silly faces.

Johannah Deakin: Happy birthday to my American daughter who is seventeen today! This is a picture from a week ago, when we first picked her up at the train station! Annabelle, we are so blessed to have gotten to know you and we are so excited for all of our adventures to come!

I also had a tweet from Louis:

@Louis_Tomlinson: happy birthday to someone who I've only known for a week, but it feels like forever! @annabellemoore

I made the rash descision to call Sadie through Facetime audio.

"Anna?"

"Sadie! Hi!"

"Why are you calling me?"

"It's my birthday silly."

"Yes, but that does not give you the right to call me at eleven at night . I made sure to be up to post that post at midnight England time to make a Facebook post, a girl needs her sleep."

"Shoot, it's eleven at night?" I questioned.

"Timezones, Annabelle Joyce."

"Oh, right, well I have to go shower. We can skype tonight maybe?"

"Probably. Unless Louis takes you out," she sing-songed.

"He's basically my brother, Sadie."

"Goodnight!" she exclaimed, hanging up. I go into the bathroom, put my phone on the counter and headed to my dresser. I picked out an ivory colored pair of crocheted shorts, a black flowy tank top, and my sunglasses. I shower listening to Fifth Harmony and get dressed. I put minimal makeup on, but enough to be able to tell I was wearing some. I let my natural wavy hair air dry and I put on a black bowl hat. I walked downstairs into the dining room.

"Waffles? My favorite!" I exclaimed, sitting down in between Louis and Daisy per usual.

"With strawberries," Lottie added, putting a bowl of strawberries on the table. I smiled at her, and once everyoen is sat down, I piled food onto my plate.

"Who's coming to the party today?" I asked, cutting up my waffles.

"Well, Louis' nan, Harry, Liam, Zayn- is Liam's exchange student coming?" Jay started.

"Niall? I think so. He arrived a week before you did, so I think so," Louis answers.

"Then Niall, Lottie's friend Belle, Fizzy's friend, Anastasia, and the twins' friend Julie. Not too big," Jay said.

"Okay. When does it start?" I asked.

"In an hour," Jay said. I nodded, and finished my food. I put the dishes in the dishwasher. I went back into my room to put my bathing suit on under my clothes and grabbed a towel. I went downstairs onto the back porch to set my towel on the railing, to see Jay and Dan putting up balloons and decorations.

"Do you need any help?" I asked.

"Louis' friends should be over soon to help with the picnic tables, but you can help too, if you want," she said. I nodded. I went to the garage to try and find Louis. Not there. I decided to call him.

"Anna?"

"Where are you?"

"The end of the driveway, putting balloons on the post box. Why?"

"Jay told me to come and find you to help with the tables. I'll go and meet you," I walked to the end of the driveway, to see Louis tying pastel pink and yellow balloons to the mail box. I leaned against it, waiting for him to finish. Then a car pulled in, and stopped next to Louis.

"Louis! Mate!"

"Liam!" Louis and the boy, Liam, high fived.

"This is my foreign exchange student, Niall," Liam introduced.

"This is mine, Annabelle," Louis said, gesturing towards me. I stood up straighter, and walked next to Louis.

"You make us sound like objects, we are people," I say, waving my hand from me to Niall.

"Your title is very odd, what am I supposed to say? Here's the person that will be living with me for eleven months from a different country?" I nodded.

"Happy birthday, Annabelle," Niall said from the passenger seat. I thanked him. Liam drove to the house, as Louis and I followed. We went into the garage to grab the tables and bringing them to the backyard. Or 'garden'.

Three tables and a lot of sweat later, we were done. Louis' other two friends didn't show up until we were done. We were standing around the island, each with a glass of cold milk, when they walked in. "Nice timing, buggers!"

"Jar, Louis!" Louis sighed and threw a pound into the swear jar.

"It's not even a swear!" he called.

"Still not a nice word!"

Louis sighed. "Annabelle, this is Harry and Zayn, my other mates. You already met Liam and Niall. Boys, this is Annabelle, my..."

"He's my host brother. I'm on exchange from America."

"Woah, America!" Harry said. He had curly hair and green eyes. Zayn had the bottom of his head shaved, and the top of his black hair was long enough to be in a ponytail.

"Happy birthday," Zayn said.

"Thanks."

"Annabelle?" That was Jay, calling me from the porch. I waved goodbye to Louis' friends, and went out to the porch. "Here she is!"

"Here I am!" I laughed, walking over to Jay who gave me a side hug. I smiled at her.

"This is my mum, but you can call her nan. Everyone does." Just then, Harry, Liam, Zayn, and Louis walked out back saying,

"Nan!" and giving her a hug. Except Niall. I walked over to him.

"This is extremely weird for me."

"I can only imagine, being with your host family for a week and then they throw you a birthday party with people you've never even met," Niall said.

"Someone understands," I sighed.

Jay introduced me to everyone, and afterwards we decided to go to the pond to go swimming. by us, I mean me, Louis, Niall, Liam, and Zayn. I jumped in first.

"Louis! You never told me it'd be this cold!" I yelled, getting out and standing next to him.

"Well if it's cold, there's no way I am getting in," Louis said, crossing his arms.

"Oh yes you are!" I yelled, pushing him in. I jumped in after him, and Niall jumped in after me. Then Liam and Harry jumped in. Zayn stayed and put his feet in.

"Annabelle Moore!"

"Yes, host brother?" I said, very innocently.

"You did not just do that."

"Yes I did, and I'm allowed because it is my birthday!" We swam for a while before Daisy, Phoebe, and their friend Julie came down the path saying it was time for lunch and cake.

We ate burgers and chips- crisps. A lot of people were asking me questions about Seattle and what life is like there. After we ate, Jay, Dan, and all of the girls came from inside the house singing happy birthday with the cake. Everybody joined, and I sat there awkwardly. I blew the candles out, and Jay started cutting the cake. I got the first piece. It was very good. Jay started putting presents in front of me. I opened them hesitantly.

Jay and Dan got me a TopShop gift card, saying that I needed to go. Lottie and Fizzy got me some candy. Louis got me the new The Script album. My actual parents had gotten my some new footie cleats. I got some iTunes gift cards, and a lot of candy. I thanked everyone.

"Wanna go and play barefoot footie?" Louis asked, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards the trail. "Mum! We're going to go play footie!"

"Be safe Louis!"

"So I'll go and climb a huge tree and jump out of it?" I joked.

"You too Annabelle!"

"Will do, Jay!" Louis' friends followed us to the soccer field. Louis went into the small shed, grabbing a soccer ball.

"Three on three? We can play first to eight," Louis asked, bringing the ball to the mid field. "How about you pick the other two boys you want on your team?"

"I'll take the Irish and curly," I said, pointing to Harry and Niall.

"Do you even know our names?" Harry asked.

"Yes, I'm not stupid," I said. I took off my sandals and we started the game. We never had specific positions, just guarding the goal when needed. All in all, Louis is really good at football, and so is Irish. Harry is okay, he's quite clumsy though. Zayn's quite fast, you wouldn't expect it. Liam just looked really athletic, and his skill matches. Louis ended up winning though.

I was quite happy with how my seventeenth birthday went. I made four new friends, had a great party in a foreign country. It was pretty amazing.


	4. three

"I love you too, mom and dad," I said, hanging up my phone. It was seven in the morning, turns out the Deakin/Tomlinson family are early risers. Everyone except Louis. I grabbed some light washed high waisted jeans, a white slightly cropped tank top, a necklace with a key to the house on it, and my gold sandals. I walked into the bathroom to shower, turning on some Bastille. Once I was dressed, I towel dried my hair and pinned a couple of my front pieces back. I looked in the mirror and smiled, just thinking. Thinking about how just four weeks ago, I was in Seattle, waking up at ten in the morning and not doing anything for most of the day. My host family loved to be productive, and part of that was waking up around seven every morning. It was very refreshing. I put on some light makeup, brushed my teeth and paused my music. I made my bed and cleaned up some of the laundry on the floor.

I walked out of my room and straight into Louis'. It was an unnamed routine for me to go into his room and wake him up before breakfast. I opened the door quietly. Harry had slept over that night, so he was sleeping on Louis' couch at the foot of his bed. I snuck into the closet and pulled out two shoes, some Vans. I shrugged my shoulders and stood at the door, ready for escape. I threw the shoes in quick succession at the two boys. I heard them both grunt before I ran out of the room and shutting the door. I ran down the stairs, taking a u-turn into the kitchen.

"Good morning Miss Annabelle," Jay said, smiling as she filled some pancakes. Her hair was in a messy bun, and she was still in her pajamas.

"Morning, Jay. Hope you slept well," I smiled, taking a seat down on a wooden stool near the island.

"I did, thank you. How is your morning?" She asked, pulling two pancakes off the gas stove and putting them on a plate. She handed the plate to me, along with some syrup. "Orange or grape juice?"

"Grape please. My mom called me after an emergency surgery she had, a patient had some problems and needed surgery. I don't know, she used big words and I was just waking up so I was not fully aware yet." I replied, pouring some syrup on my pancakes and grabbing the fork and taking a bite. Jay handed me my grape juice.

"Annabelle Joyce Moore, I will kill you."

"Good morning to you too, Louis William. Hope you and Harry slept well," I said, smiling at Jay. She gave me a confused look before going back to her pancakes.

"Mum, Annabelle threw shoes at me and Harry to wake us up!" Louis complained, taking the seat next to me on the island. He took a sip from my grape juice.

"Mine, Tomlinson," I said, taking the glass from him and putting it on the opposite side. Harry came trudging into the kitchen a few seconds later.

"Why, Annabelle."

I didn't reply, just finished my pancakes and put the dishes in the dishwasher. "What are we doing today on this fine, rainy Wednesday?" I asked Jay.

"Well, since school starts in two weeks, they need you to order your uniform and choose your classes, then you and some other kids can go start some school shopping?" Jay asked, looking at me for approval. I nodded. "Lou, honey, can you finish with these pancakes so I can help Anna with the school paper work?"

"'Course, mum." Jay led me to the dining room as she went to presumably grab the paper work. I checked Facebook while I was waiting. Jay came back a few minutes later, now dressed and holding a Manila folder in her hand. She put in on the table, and grabbed me a pen.

"So, for uniforms, they recommend you purchasing a full-package which has everything you'll need in it." Jay led me through the process of ordering my new school uniforms, and picking my classes. I was required to take a English, History, Maths, Chemistry, and Language class. I chose Spanish, which is what I was learning in the States. I chose a ceramics class and apparently I was required to take gym as well. Once I'd finished that, I went into the kids living room to see Daisy and Phoebe playing a game on the WiiU.

I plopped myself sideways on the recliner, legs hanging over the arm rest. I checked Twitter, seeing a new mention.

@Louis_Tomlinson: shoutout to @annabellemoore who decided to wake me and @harrystyles up at 7:00 by throwing shoes at us.

I didn't know Harry had a Twitter! I followed him, and favorited the tweet. I got a text from Lottie.

Lottie: you up?

Anna: yeah, in kids living room. jay said something about shopping today, want to come? I think Lou would take us.

Lottie: shopping? Yes please! Ask Lou if the boys want to go too. That'd be fun

Anna: ok xx

I texted Louis to ask the boys and he replied with a "literally in the kitchen, Annabelle! But yes :)". I watched Daisy and Phoebe try and beat a certain level in Mario, but failing every time. I watched and laughed for awhile, before Louis came from the stairs so we could shopping.

"I wanna go!" Phoebe said, concentrating on the screen.

"Next time Phoebs. The van will be full, anyways." Louis said, grabbing the keys to the van and making sure we had everyone. I grabbed my small purse, flicking my sunglasses on to my head. I made sure I had my wallet and credit card, giving Louis a thumbs up. He smiled and pushed open the door, walking off the porch and into the van.

"I call shotgun!" I exclaimed, running to the van and getting in the passenger- it was the driver's side. Nicely done, American. I climb over the middle to get into the passenger side, shutting the door when Harry tries and opens it.

"Really, Moore?" Harry asked as he climbed into the back with Lottie.

"Really, Styles."

"So, what do you have to buy, anyways?"

"Well, school starts in three weeks, so school supplies, and I think Annabelle needs footie clothes?" Louis asked, starting the van and backing out of the driveway.

"You can use your Topshop voucher!" Lottie said, patting my shoulder. I turn on the radio, onto some random station.

"I call aux cord!" I said, grabbing it, and plugging my phone it.

"C'mon, Lou, you can't let her get both the aux cord and the front seat!" Harry said, gesturing his arm towards me. I twisted towards him and smiled. I scrolled through my vast music selection, deciding on some 5 Seconds of Summer. I put on their cover of American Idiot, and we pulled into a driveway. Louis honked, and Liam and Niall came running down a set of brick stairs and into the van. Niall sat in the middle of Harry and Lottie, and Liam went to the way back.

"5 Seconds of Summer?" Niall asked.

"No way! How did you know?"

"I love them!" Niall exclaimed, head bobbing to the music. We arrived at the next house, a nice two story closer to town. Zayn was leaning against a tree, walking towards the van and into the back near Liam.

"Let's do some shopping, shall we?" Louis asked, pulling out of Zayn's driveway. We drove for about twenty minutes, into the busier part of the town. We listened to some of The Script, Imagine Dragons, and 5 Seconds of Summer until we pulled into a mall parking lot. We all got out, and walked into the mall. We went straight into the Nike Store.

"Did you even bring any sports clothes?" Liam asked.

"Like two outfits," I said, dragging Lottie to the women's section. I picked up some black shorts along with a grey shirt. I grabbed some other clothes too, and bought some Nike pro shorts an dsport bras. I also got some half calf socks, and checked out. We were on our way to the Adidas store, when I stopped.

"What is that?" I asked, pointing to a giant wooden chair in the middle of the mall. It was probably ten ffet tall and very wide.

"That's a big chair," Louis answered, running to it and taking a seat. I sit next to him, Niall next to me, and everyone else around us. I see a girl who looks about my age.

"Can you take some pictures for me?" I asked, opening the camera on my phone and handing it to her. She took some of us with many different facial expressions .I hopped off the chair and took my phone back, looking at the pictures. I chose one and fit a white border around it and posted it to instagram.

@annabellemoore: well, this is the first post since I've been in England. over the course of the five weeks that I've been here I've met some pretty cool people that I'll be attending school with. (l to r) Harry, Liam, Niall, me, Louis, Lottie, and Zayn, today is an adventure and I cannot wait for more! @harrystyles @niallhoran @liampayne @louistomlinson @lottietommo @zaynmalik xx

Sadie texted me after liking the picture: glad to see you're having fun, want to facetime soon?

I replied as we walked into the Adidas store. I went to the women's and picked up three pairs of soccer pants and some shin guards. I also picked up a nice sweatshirt and a jacket for soccer, as well. It took about an hour for me to find the clothes, and once we were done I was hungry.

"Let's grab lunch?" Niall asked, walking in the direction he thought was the food court. I followed him. 

"Where are you foreigners going?" Lottie joked, going the opposite direction. I looked at Niall, who just started cracking up, and we ran towards her.

"I was following Niall!" I claimed, pointing to Irish. We both laughed and walked towards Lottie, who was following the group to the actual food court. I got in line for a soup place, regardless of the fact that it was August. It was slightly rainy though. I ordered a cup of butternut squash soup and a side of ceasar salad.

We met back up and grabbed a large table, everyone eating away. I was looking through the pictures that we took.

"Let's take a selfie!" Niall said, from the end of the table. He took my phone from me and held it up in the air. I leaned into the table so you could make sure you could see me. Niall took my phone after taking the picture, and typing on it before he gave it back to me. "I sent it to myself."

I looked at the picture, smiling. I decided to post it to Facebook.

Annabelle Moore: Out for a day of shopping and shenanigans with the amazing people that I've met so far! Thank you for making this as amazing as it has been! With - Louis Tomlinson, Lottie Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, and Liam Payne.

We walked to another store, but before that we decided to go to Starbucks. "What are you going to get?" Zayn asked me, leaning towards me. I studied the menu.

"I'm not sure, maybe an iced chai tea latte? Yeah, that sounds good," I contemplated.

"Yeah, that does sound good."

I walked up and ordered, moving to the left afterwards to wait for it to be ready.

"Annabelle?" the barista said as he slid the coffee across the counter. I quickly thanked him, grabbed a straw and put in in my delicious drink. I stepped outside the coffee shop, and waited for the others. Once we recollected, everyone having their caffeine fix, we went into a sports store.

"Why are we here?" I asked.

"Do you want a backpack or not?" Louis sassily asked.

"I have my L.L. Bean one at the house," I said.

"What about a bag for football?" Harry asked. He walked towards the bags section, in which I followed.

"You're a genious, H," I said, picking up a black Nike shoulder bag. We browsed for a little bit, before we got to the bikes section. We went to the kid's bikes where they had some on the ground, instead of on the racks. I sat on one. "Let's race!"

Everyone but Liam grabbed a bike. We all lined up at the edge of the aisle. "Liam! You better record this!" Niall exclaimed. Liam sighed, and pulled out his phone.

"Call it Liam!" I exclaimed.

"Ready," he said holding his phone sideways, "steady, go!" he lazily announced. I started pedalling as hard as i could on the small Barbie bike. The aisle was very croweded, so we all ended up bumping into each other. We were almost finished the race, until we heard an unfamiliar voice.

"No riding the bikes unless you are buying them, please."

"Um, sorry sir we-" I started. I stood up from my Barbie bike, looking at Louis.

"-were just on our way out," Louis finished. We put the bikes back, I bought the bag, and we walked out of the store.

"Please tell me you got that on tape!" Niall laughed, resting his hand on Liam's shoulder and looking at his phone.

"Of course!" Liam laughed. "I'm sending that to Jay. She'll get a kick out of it."

"Liam don't you dare," Lottie said. We walked into a school supplies store, and we all bought folders, notebooks, pencils, the usual. I tried to color code mine, for each class I was taking. We all ended up buying school supplies. We checked out and then decided to head back to Louis' house to hang out for a little while.

We got back to the car, my arms tired from all of the bags I was holding. The half hour ride back to the house was quick, because we all were listening to some music. Once we got back, I took my bags from the back and brought them up to my room, greeting everyone. I put the bags on the platform at the foot of my bed, promising to myself that I would clean it up later. I walked into the kitchen, and went into the cabinet above the stainless fridge to grab a snack. I pulled out a granola bar, and roamed the house trying to find someone.

"Annabelle, love!" I heard Jay say when I walked into the big living room.

"Yes?" I asked, looking at Jay and Dan, who were sitting on the couch, watching a program on television.

"Ben just called and he said that he set up a tour of school for you today at three. Is that okay? You'll get your schedule, and you'll be able to sign up for football," Dan said.

"That works. Will you be coming?" I questioned.

"Yes, and we figured Louis could come too, as long as you're okay with it." Jay answered. I nodded.

"Where are the boys, anyways?" I asked, the house seemed quieter than it should.

"Footie field, playing some rainy footie."

"I'll be there!" I said, turning around and going up the stairs. I changed into some water ressitant running leggings, and a maroon soccer shirt from school. I put my hair up in a ponytail, and added a black headband. I braided the ponytail so my hair wouldn't get very tangley. I put on my waterproof watch. It was 1:30, giving us plenty of time to play. I walked down the stairs and into the shoe closet. I threw on my sneakers, put my phone on the island before jogging through the garden. The light rain that was happening this morning had now turned into pouring. I picked up my pace, and once I got into the secluded trail, the trees above me covering my already wet body from the rain.

I walked under the waterfall, and continued on the path until I came out to the field, seeing Louis and the other boys running around, chasing the ball. I stood at the edge of the field, waiting for them to notice me. I watched as Niall stole the ball from Harry, sprinting to the goal and forcefully kicking it in. After it when in, he ran back towards everyone, throwing his hands in the air yelling. He ran back around, group hugging with Zayn and Liam. Once the excitement had run down, they finally noticed me. "What's up, Anna?" Niall said, taking his hair and pushing it out of his eyes.

"Jay told me you boys were out here, I figured I would join in on a couple of games before I have to go to school for a tour. Louis, Jay said that you should come as well."

"What time is you tour?" Niall asked.

"Three."

"No way! Mine's at three as well, and Liam's coming with me!"

"Guess we'll all head over there then. Zayn, Harry, care to join?" Louis asked. He had the soccer ball in his hands and he was passing it in between his hands.

"Why not? As long as I can catch a shower before we head out," Zayn said. Harry agreed with him.

"Anna, why don't you join Harry and Louis' team? They're going to need all the help they can get," Niall laughed. I shrugged. I took the ball from Louis and jogged to the center. I set it down, and started to kick it towards Harry. I ran down the field, trying to play offense. Louis passed the ball to me, and Zayn was quick to be on my tail, chasing me. He tried to block me, and I tried to maneuver around him. He suddenly pushed me slightly, which caused me to fall. I fell straight into a huge puddle, soaking me even more. I sat in the puddle before finally deciding to get up. I ran towards Louis who now had the ball, and he passed it to me. I took the ball and ran it towards the goal. I kicked it in the goal, but before it could go in, Liam ran in front of the goal and dived to catch the ball. He missed though, and ended up diving face first into a puddle.

"How's that taste?" I laughed, grabbing the ball from inside the goal. I grabbed his hand and helped him stand back up.

We played a few more games, and after what felt like awhile, I decided to check my watch. "Um, boys, it's two forty- wait- I mean, fourteen forty," I yelled over the rain.

"It can't be! The school is a fifteen minute drive and it's a five minute walk!" Louis exclaimed, grabbing the ball and throwing it in the shed. We all started to sprint back to the house, the trip still taking two minutes. We ran into the kitchen, everyone soaked and breathing heavy.

"Kids."

"Mum, we're so sorry, we lost track of time and-" Louis tried.

"Save it. We'll talk afterwards. Go get in the van, I talked to Karen and we'll meet her over there. Harry, Zayn, you're welcome to join," Jay said, grabbing the keys. I grabbed my phone from the island and rushed to the van, sitting in the front row. Next to me was Louis.

The drive to school was very quiet, soft pop music was playing. Jay didn't say anything, just driving. We pulled into a parking lot, and I looked at the school. It looked really nice from the outside. We all walked on a concrete path, and in a set of navy doors. Jay took an immediate left, and we all followed.

In what looked like the main office, a lady was sitting behind a desk staring at a computer. A woman was sitting in a chair. "Jay! How are you? It's been forever, love!" she said.

"How are you, Karen?" Jay said, hugging the woman.

"That's my host mom," Niall whispered next to me.

"My mum," Liam interjected.

"Liam! Niall, why are you all soaked?" Karen asked.

"We were playing footie outside, and we lost track of time, so we couldn't shower or change," Liam said. Karen nodded, giving them the 'we will speak at home' look.

A man walked out of one of the doors in the office. Behind him, I saw Ben. "Hello Annabelle, how are you?"

"Good afternoon, Ben. I am doing well, and you?" I said politely.

"I'm very well, thank you. This is Mr. Barnes, and he is the principal of Don Valley."

"Hello, Annabelle and Niall, we are so excited to have you here for the year. Have you two heard of the uniform policy?" he asked.

"I know there is one, and I know I've ordered it, but I do not know the extent of it," I explained. Niall just nodded.

"Well, for boys, white collared shirts that must be tucked in, the tie,the school blazer, black trousers, black shoes, dark blue or black gym shorts, white shirts for gym, and a black belt. You are allowed a black v-neck jumper, and jackets of course. For girls, a white collared shirt, the school blazer, either a black skirt or pants, and black shoes. Preferably flats. For pe, black or navy shorts, and a white or gray school shirt."

"What about for after school activities, like sports?" Niall asked.

"You can wear whatever you want as long as it is not too revealing."

"Okay," I said.

"Would you like to recieve your schedules then we can go for a tour?" Mr. Barnes asked. We nodded. He went to the woman behind the desk and talked to her for awhile before going to the printer and grabbing papers. He handed them to me and Niall.

I looked at my schedule.

Time: Class: Teacher:

8.30-8.40 Form Ms. Teasdale

8.50-9.50 Adv. Ceramics Ms. Teasdale

10.00-11.00 History Mr. Colton

11.10-12.10 Spanish 4 Mr. Fairburn

12.10-12.40 Dinner Break

12.45-1.45 Maths Mrs. John

1.55-2.55 Chemistry Mrs. Walker

"We run on quarters here, so the schedule switches," Mr. Barnes said. We got a tour of the school, then he asked if we had any questions.

"I wanted to join the soccer team," I mentioned.

"I did as well," Niall said.

"Well, here are the papers, and preseason starts tomorrow, at seven on the fields. You're welcome to fill them out and join." We received the papers, and I filled them out. Once we were deemed all set to start tryouts tomorrow, we left.

"Are you excited to start school?" Jay asked me.

"Yeah, it'll be nice to have more friends than Louis'."

"Hey!" Louis exclaimed.

We went back to the house, and I decided to pack my bag for tryouts tomorrow. Then, Jay called me down for supper. I went into the dining room and enjoyed a great meal with my host family.

***

well, there's a long chapter for you! along with a gif of lou playing soccer bc i really liked that part.

vote and comment!

xx,

grace


	5. four

"Anna, love, you need to get up. You have football tryouts in an hour," I heard a voice. I groaned, and sat up.

"I don't play football. I play soccer," I said, rubbing my eyes.

"Whatever you say, love. There's cereal downstairs whenever you're ready," Jay said, patting my shoulder and leaving my room.

I stretched, feeling the warmth from the bed leave me as I got out of it. I made my bed and tried to not fall asleep doing so. I went into my drawers and picked out a maroon 'Seattle High School Girl's Soccer' shirt, some black Nike running shorts, a pair of blacks knee socks, and threw the clothes on. I went into the bathroom, grabbed my hair brush and pulled my hair into a ponytail. I then braided it. I put on a thick black headband. In my shoulder bag, I threw in my new cleats, some shin guards, my sunglasses, and an athletic rain coat. I put some Adidas soccer pants on over my shorts, and walked out of my room. I grabbed my phone, quickly checking the time. 06:15, Monday, 18 August 2014.

I went downstairs into the shoe closet and put on my black Nike Free Fives. I walked into the kitchen, and saw Louis sitting at the island with a bowl of cereal and his phone. I grabbed a bagel and popped it in the toaster, then went and sat next to him. "I'm going to call my parents," I said, pulling up the phone app on my iPhone.

"It's almost eleven at night in Seattle, they won't be up."

"Oh yes they will. I bet you they're at the hospital," I said, dialing the hospital's number. Louis scoffed and went back to his phone.

"Hi, Sara. It's Annabelle, are my parents there?" I asked when the receptionist picked up.

"Hey Anna! Yes, your dad is in surgery and your mom is sleeping in the on call room."

"Just give me my dad then, I'm sure he'll relay the message to her," I said. My bagel popped out of the toaster so I put the phone on speaker to tend to my food.

"I'll put you on."

"Hello?" a surgical technician answered.

"It's Annabelle, can I speak with my dad please?" I asked, grabbing the peanut butter from the cabinet.

"Dr. Moore, it's your daughter."

"Speaker, Jenni," I could hear my dad. "Morning Hun!"

"Evening, dad. I have soccer tryouts today, well this week, but they start today," I spread the peanut butter on the bagel, putting it back in the cabinet. I grabbed a glass and filled it with milk. I took a sip.

"You'll do great. Guess what?"

"What?" I asked.

"We got a dog!" my dad said.

"No way! What's its name?"

"We're calling him pup right now, we haven't come up with a good one yet."

"Call him Louis!" Louis exclaimed.

"I don't think so, Louis." My dad answered.

"Dang it. We have to get going soon, Annabelle."

"Dad, I have to go. It was a nice short chat," I said.

"Love you!" he said. I said it back, and hung up. I finished my bagel and glass of milk, and went back to my bathroom to brush my teeth. Once I had done that, I grabbed my Beats from my desk and went downstairs. I grabbed a water bottle and Gatorade from the fridge and threw them in my bag.I threw on a sweatshirt from soccer and put my bag on my shoulder, waiting for Louis.

"Ready?" he asked, twirling a key ring around his finger. I nodded, walking out the front door and over to the van. "Oh. We're not taking the van, we're taking my car," Louis said. He walked over to the garage and opened it. There was a car inside.

"Okay, how have I been living here and not known that you have a car?" I laughed, getting in the passenger side. I put my headphones around my neck and buckled up.

"We're going to pick up Niall, if that's okay," Louis said, starting the car and driving down the driveway. We drove down the road for awhile, making some turns. I was happy that it was sunny out and not raining. We drove to Liam's house. Niall was waiting on their brick steps, browsing his phone. He hopped in the back.

"Mornin' lass, lassie," he said.

"Good morning Niall. You excited?" I made conversation with the two boys as we drove to the school. Louis drove up to the soccer fields, and dropped me off.

"Good luck, Anna. Make friends! We'll be back at ten to get you, same spot," Louis said out the window. Niall shot me a thumbs up. I walked over to the benches, and took a seat. No one was here yet, considering it was only 6:40, but I didn't mind. I put on my headphones, and waited.

After two songs, a girl came and sat next to me. I took my headphones off and put them around my neck.

"Are you new here?" she asked.

"I'm on exchange for the year, so yeah."

"Oh! From Seattle I'm guessing by your sweatshirt? I'm Skye," the blonde girl said, holding out her hand. I shook it.

"Yeah, from Seattle. I'm Annabelle."

"So, who are you staying with?" she asked, "that is how it works right?"

"Yeah, I'm staying with Louis Tomlinson and his family," I said.

"Like Louis, Tomlinson?"

"Yes, why?"

"He's like that person that everyone knows! No way." By this time, more and more girls were showing up, and then finally a man who looked in his late twenties came.

"Girls! Gather around please," he said, standing in front of the bench Skye and I were sitting on. I put my phone and headphones in my bag. "I'm Coach Nolan. I see a new face! How about we go around and introduce ourselves? Let's start with new girl," he said, pointing at me.

"I'm Annabelle, I'm seventeen, and I'm on exchange from America," I said smiling. The fifteen or so girls all said their names, and we started warm up with a run. I took off my sweatshirt, and decided to run with Skye, who was leading the pack.

"I'm the captain," she said as we jogged around the fields and around campus.

"Nice."

"So, how is it living with Louis' family?" she asked.

"Well, I'm an only child so it's weird going from having just my parents in the house to having to live with five other kids," I said.

"Understandable. Do you like it here?"

"Yeah, I mean I haven't got many friends except for Louis' friends and his sisters but school will help with that," I laughed.

"Wait you hang out with his friends?"

"Yeah..." I hesitated to answer.

"Well now you have me for a friend!" Skye said as we finished running. We stretched as Coach Nolan talked about practice times and all the details. Once he finished he had us split up into positions that we wanted to play and we ran some skills and drills. We did this for quite awhile, I got hot enough that I had to take off my pants and do the drills in my shorts. We continued being assessed on drills, until he called the end of practice. I walked over to where my bag was, putting everything I took out back in. I took off my cleats and shin guards, putting those in. I took a sip of the orange Gatorade and grabbing my phone. I put the bag on my shoulder, and checked the time. 09:39 it read.

"Um, Skye?" I asked. She turned around, looking at me. "Can you show me where the boys fields are?"

"Sure, there's a small trail right near the track that leads to them."

"Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow?" I asked. It was meant to be a statement, but it came out like a question. She nodded. I walked on the trail that Skye pointed out and got to the fields without any struggle. I sat on the bleachers to wait for Louis to finish up. I put my headphones on and listened to music.

Before I knew it, Louis was walking towards me, all gross and sweaty. I paused my music and stood to meet him. Louis put his arm around my shoulder.

"Don't touch me, you bugger, you're all sweaty!" I laughed, taking his arm off of my shoulder.

"You have to put a pound in the swear jar!" Louis exclaimed. I sighed.

"Louis! Mate!" someone came jogging towards us. Louis greeted the boy, and hugged him. "Who's the pretty girl?" he asked.

"The girl is Annabelle, and she can hear you. She's the foreign exchange student that is staying with me from America. Now if you'll excuse us, we have to get home," Louis said, looking at me. I walked to his car, and got in the passenger seat. Niall followed us, and got in the back.

"Who was that?" I asked.

"Stan, we used to be really good friends before last year. He's really rude and he tries to get with every girl in the school, so you should probably stay away from him, Anna," Louis explained. I nodded. Louis started the car.

"Did you make any friends, Annabelle?" Niall asked.

"Well there wasn't much time to mingle. I met a girl named Skye, who is captain I guess? She seemed obsessed with you. She was nice though," I said.

"Skye Wellington?" Louis asked.

"She's in your year, so maybe," I replied.

"Yeah it's her, want to go and grab some coffee?" Louis asked, pulling into a cafe before we could answer. I laughed and grabbed my wallet before I got out of the car and into the small shop. We stood in line, deciding on what to get. I went for an iced coffee and a blueberry muffin. I paid and waited for my coffee. Louis and Niall ordered, and waited with me.

"Iced coffee regular cream and sugar and a blueberry muffin?" the boy at the counter said. He looked a tad older than me. I smiled and took my coffee.

"Do we want to sit?" I asked. Niall and Louis nodded, so I grabbed a table.

"Was it awful?" Louis asked. He sat across from me and Niall took the seat next to him.

"Not really," I said.

"What's worse, England football tryouts or American ones?" Niall asked.

"We do a lot more running and ab stuff in America," I said, sipping my coffee. "But the drills were pretty much the same."

"We did a scrimmage game," Niall said, pulling out his phone. He took a selfie and started typing. Then his ringer started going off. "Me mum's Facetiming me! Should I answer?"

"'Course Niall, it's your mother," I said, ripping a piece of the blueberry muffin off and popping it into my mouth. Niall held his phone out, and waved. He had the biggest smile I've ever seen him with.

"Hi Niall, how are you? Where are you?" We heard a woman's voice. I tried not to laugh, but could not. "Why are you sweaty?"

"Just had footie, remember?" Niall asked.

"Oh! Where are you?"

"At a coffee shop with Louis and Annabelle, who is Louis' exchange student."

"Oh, that's nice sweetie! Let me see them!" Niall pointed the phone towards us. I smiled and waved. Louis did too. "Annabelle, you're absolutely stunning!"

"Oh, thank you!" I replied. Niall continued to talk with his mom for awhile before they said goodbye and hung up. I finished my muffin and coffee. I threw it away in the trash and grabbed my wallet.

"Can you drive in America?" Niall asked.

"Yeah, actually. I got my license just about a year ago," we walked back out to the car and got in. We drove to Liam's house to drop Niall off.

"Can we go to a book store?" I asked. Louis looked at me weirdly, but brought me to one anyway. I went in, and was greeted by an old lady. I smiled and said hello. I went to the journals section. I picked up three journals so I could start to write about my time here in the UK.

"All set?" the woman asked as I put the journals up on the counter. "Planning on doing some writing?"

"I'm on exchange here from America, and my mom said it would be a good idea to write a daily diary so I never forget the small details," I said, smiling.

"America, eh? That's great. I hope you enjoy your time here," she says, putting them in a bag. I paid and said goodbye. Louis gave me a weird look when I got back in the car.

"Needed journals, mom thought it would be a good idea." Louis drove home. Once we got home, it was noon. I greeted everyone and went upstairs to shower. I picked out a pair of navy blue shorts, a white loose button up, and my Sperry boat shoes. I showered, and put my hair in a high bun. I put on minimal makeup. I buttoned the shirt, leaving two buttons undone. I rolled up the sleeves to my elbows and tucked the shirt in. I put on a belt and went downstairs.

"If you're hungry, Anna, it's fend for yourself," Lottie said as I walked into the kitchen. I grabbed some sandwich meat and made myself a wrap. I sat next to Lottie and visited with her.

**that Sunday**

"You girls made the team, congrats!" Coach Nolan said. I sighed in relief. It was the last day of tryouts and we were separated to who made the team and who got cut. Tonight is the last night before school starts.

Jay told me that they had an annual bonfire and party the night before school starts. She said I could invite anyone I wanted. I asked Skye, Bethany, and Amelia, who are other girls on the team that I have befriended over the week. After we were all set to leave, I went to Louis' car. I sat in the passenger seat, and waited for him. I pulled out my phone and went to my messages with Jay.

Annabelle: what time should my friends come over tonight??  
Jay: how about 4? everyone will be here at 6, but I'd love to meet your friends and have supper with them! xx  
Annabelle: you're silly xx

I then went to the group chat that we had. Bethany called it 'soccer star squad' even though it's called football here.

Annabelle: my host mum said you ladies can come over at 4. she wants to have supper with you guys. she's happy I have more friends than just Louis' ones haha.  
Amelia: okie! btw you just said the word mum  
Annabelle: it's fine haha  
Bethany: SHES TURNING BRITISH  
Annabelle: AM NOT.   
Skye: do you two need rides?  
Annabelle: yes.  
Skye: Annabelle you're crazy.  
Bethany: nah, mom's letting me use the car.  
Annabelle: SHES TURNING AMERICAN  
Amelia: I could use one please! What time will this shindig be over?  
Annabelle: Jay said nine.  
Skye: I think you mean 2100  
Annabelle: sure, whatever.  
Skye: see you ladies at 1600!  
Annabelle: bring bathingsuits !

I looked up from my phone, and Louis had slid into the car. "I made friends," I stated.

"Oh, really?" Louis asked. "Who?"

"Skye, Bethany, and Amelia. They're all in your year."

"They're really nice."

"Yeah, and Bethany is so funny," I said. Louis pulled out of the school and we drive home in silence.

"You made it on the team, right?" Louis asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?"

"You're just quiet. Want to go grab coffee again?"

"Is that even a question?"

"Okay, we'll go grab coffee. Starbucks drive through okay?" I nodded. Louis took a left turn and drove into the Starbucks line. "Your usual?" I nodded once more. I looked into my wallet and grabbed out four pounds and handed it to him. Once we got our beverages, we drove home.

I went into the kitchen and grabbed an apple from the fridge. I took a seat at the island. Daisy and Phoebe came running in. "Did you make it?! Did you make it?!"

"Yes, I did girls," I smiled. They hugged me as best as they could as I was sitting on a stool. I finished my apple and went upstairs to shower. The day was quite chilly and overcast, so for clothes I picked out my navy blue and pink Vineyard Vines long sleeve shirt, a pair of white shorts, my pink Vineyard Vines baseball cap, and a belt. I took my shower, listening to Fifth Harmony. I dried myself off and got dressed. I brushed out my hair, then flipped my head up and down to get it to dry. Once I was satisfied with how dry it was, I sprayed my hair with heat protectant spray and straightened my hair. I put on some makeup. Once I was done, I put the hat on backwards before going downstairs for lunch. I went into the dining room to see everyone sat around the table. I took a seat between Louis and Daisy, and took some chicken and veggies.

The rest of the day was quite relaxing, we just hung around before setting everything up around three. We set up chairs around the fire pit, and set up a high-tech karaoke system near the fire pit as well. It consisted of speakers, a laptop, and five microphones with stands. Once we were done, we went back inside to wait for my friends. I played some Mario Kart 8 with the twins, before the door knocked. I paused the game, and opened the door. "Hey Anna!" Bethany, Amelia, and Skye all said. I said hello before letting them in.

"Hi ladies! I'm Jay, welcome!" Jay came in from the kitchen. I gave them the tour, before going upstairs and into my room.

"Your mom is really nice," Amelia said.

"Host mom," I corrected her. Just then, my phone started ringing. It was the hospital. I held up a finger to my lips and answered it.

"Hi honey! I'm in a surgery right now but I wanted to hear your beautiful voice!" my mom said.

"Hi mum, I'm doing great. School starts tomorrow and I made the soccer team! We're about to have dinner and then have a bonfire! I love you!"

"I have to do this surgery anyways, sweetie. I'm putting a pig valve on a human."

"You have fun with that pig heart, mom."

'Love you!" I hung up.

"My mom's a cardiothoracic surgeon," I explained. They nodded. Bethany and Amelia commented about the pig heart, laughing.

We hung out for a little while before we got called downstairs for dinner. "just warning you, it's a big family," I said, walking down the stairs and into the dining room. There were multiple pizzas and salad. I took my usual seat, and we started eating. Jay and Dan were asking my friends questions. After dinner, we decided to go swimming before the bonfire. We all got changed and walked out to the pond.

"Oh my gosh! Your house is amazing," Amelia said.

"Thanks, it's not mine though, I just live here," I said, jumping in. We swam around for a bit, before it got dark and we had to go back to the house and get dressed and grab blankets for the bonfire. There was probably about twenty people sat around the fire, just chatting away.

"Louis, why don't you and the boys sing a song? You're usually dying to get to the karaoke machine first!" Jay said, snuggling with her blanket.

"Niall, care to join?" Louis asked, standing out of his seat and walking over to the laptop. Niall got up too, and they whispered until they chose a song. One Way or Another started playing. They all sang really well, to which I was surprised. I didn't know that Louis and the others could sing so well! They danced around and sang. Once it was over, they put their microphones in the stands.

"Your turn, Annabelle!" Louis said. He came over to my chair and pulled me up.

"Um, I don't sing."

"Of course you do!" Louis said, pushing me to the karaoke stand.

"Well if I am, then Skye, Amelia, and Bethany are singing with me," I stated, looking at them. Skye, Amelia and Bethany jumped out of their seats to come join me. We all stood in a circle, trying to figure out what song to sing. Many options went around, but we decided on Dark Horse.

"Who's going to do the rapping part?" Bethany asked.

"I can, my track team used to sing it on the way back from meets in the spring," I said. Everyone nodded. I pulled up the song on the laptop and hit play. We each had our own solo, and we all sang the chorus. I did the rap part, and we finished trying not to laugh the entire time.

"That's going on Facebook!" Jay laughed, putting her phone down and typing on it.

"You were recording it?" I asked. I walked over to her, watching her post it. I got a notification on my phone. I opened it, and read the post.

Johannah Deakin: Our annual bonfire and karaoke before the first day of school! My foreign daughter and her friends from footie decided to get up and put on a show singing! What silly girls! Glad to have you here, Anna! With: Annabelle Moore, Skye Wellington, Bethany Croft, and Amelia Hamilton

I saw that my Mom had already liked the post, probably on her lunch break. I liked it as well. We all sat around the bonfire telling stories.

"Anna, tell us about your school!" Amelia requested.

"Well, it's quite big, about fifteen hundred students. I was on the Varsity soccer team as a sophomore, and my best friend Sadie was on it too. Each fall, we have a homecoming week which is so much fun. We have dress up days, each grade decorates a hallway a certain theme, and at the end of the week there's a huge football game on Friday. Then on Saturday morning, there's a 5k that the Cross Country team puts on and most of our school runs in it. That night, there's a semi-formal dance. It's like a whole week of school pride." I continued to tell about America, before it was time for everyone to leave. I gave everyone a hug, brought my blankets upstairs and fell asleep, nervous for school tomorrow in a foreign country.


	6. five

"Annabelle, wake up. It's the first day of school," I heard Jay say, shaking me slightly. I groaned. "We leave for school at eight, it's seven. I packed everyone a lunch, so you don't have to do that."

"Thanks, Jay," I said. I rolled over and watched her leave my room and shut the door. I got out of my bed and made it. I went into the hall and grabbed my phone.

"Morning, Anna," Louis said. He was grabbing his phone too.

"Morning, Lou," I said as I checked the weather. It was supposed to rain all day and be about sixty out. I went back into my room. I grabbed a white polo short sleeved shirt, a black skirt, (it was almost like a skater skirt, except not as cute), a blue and black plaid tie, and some black flats before going into the bathroom to freshen up. I changed and put on my watch. I curled my hair quickly so it was in loose curls and put on some makeup. I left the bathroom and grabbed some shorts, a t-shirt, a sport bra, and waterproof leggings and put them in my duffel bag. I grabbed my school backpack that had everything in it and went downstairs. I dropped off my school bag near the front door, and put my sneakers, cleats and shin guards into my duffel. I checked my watch, realizing it was only seven twenty. I went into the kitchen.

I checked the fridge and saw we had stuff to make smoothies. I sent a text to our "fam" group chat. You can thank Lottie for that one. The twins were not in it, because they didn't have phones.

Annabelle: i'm making smoothies, who wants one?  
Louis: sign me up!  
Jay: i'm all set love, so is dan xx  
Felicite: me!! :D  
Lottie: me too!  
Annabelle: give me seven minutes xx

I locked my phone and went to the fridge and grabbed some strawberries, raspberries, greek yogurt, milk, and maple syrup. I grabbed some ice cubes and put them in the blender. I cut up the strawberries and added them. I threw in some raspberries as well. I cut up a banana and added it. I added some yogurt and milk, then a little maple syrup. I found some rolled oats in the pantry and added a couple handfuls. I let it blend on high until I thought it was enough. I poured the smoothie into four glasses, and added straws right as everyone came down. I took mine and sat at the island.

soccer star squad:  
Bethany: WHOS EXCITED FOR ANNABELLE TO BE WEARING A UNIFORM?  
Annabelle: oh yeah def me  
Amelia: it's not that bad!  
Skye: I mean the fourth friday in every month we can wear whatever we want so  
Annabelle: woo once a month!  
Amelia: at least we aren't dress coded in sports  
Bethany: I would probably cry :'(  
Skye: What form is everyone in?  
Annabelle: I think ms teasdale  
Skye: colton  
Bethany: Colton  
Amelia: Mr. Colton  
Annabelle: wow cool guys thanks

I finished my smoothie and put the glass in the dishwasher. I went upstairs to brush my teeth, and noticed there was a new Snapchat. I looked at the picture from Sadie, it was a picture of her laptop on Netflix. "Have fun at school, while I'll be doing this all night"

I took a mirror selfie. "Uniform yay" I wrote. I sent it and brushed my teeth. I ran downstairs, put on some black flats and packed myself a lunch. Once I had finished, it was time to go. Amelia, Bethany, Skye and I all decided to meet at the front entrance so we can roam around the school until form started. I learned that from is basically a "Anna, you ready?" Louis called from the doorway.

"Yep!" I said. I walked out to Louis, grabbed my bags, and went out to his car. Lottie came out with us, because she was in the same school. I got in the back, while Lottie got shot gun. "I'm getting aux cord!" I exclaimed, reaching in between Louis and Lottie to grab the cord. I plugged it in my phone. I looked through my music library, and decided on Stay with Me by Sam Smith. I turned it all the way up on my phone, and Louis turned it up on the stereo. We all sang and danced along. We listened to my music and soon enough we were in the school's parking lot.

I took a deep breath."Are you nervous?" Louis asked. He turned around in the seat to face me. I nodded in reply. "I would be too. Just remember, you're here to have the time of your life, and you already have friends. You can do this," He said. He held his hand up for me to give him a high five. I gave him a small high five. "That's no way to start your year in England! C'mon Anna, give me a good high five!" Louis joked. I laughed, and gave him a better high five. "That's it. Keep on smiling, you're going to do great." I nodded.

I grabbed my navy L.L. Bean backpack and got out of the car. The school looked really new and nice. I walked up the concrete path with Louis and Lottie and saw Amelia, Skye, and Bethany as we approached the front door. "Let's take a picture! Annabelle, get out your phone!" Skye said. I grabbed my phone from my bag and handed it to Lottie. Bethany, Amelia, Skye and I all posed together and Lottie took the pictures. We took some nice ones and some silly ones. I was doing the spiderman hand pose in a couple of them. I took my phone back, and posted them to Facebook.

Annabelle Moore: First day at my school for the year with some great friends! With Bethany Croft, Amelia Hamilton, and Skye Wellington

"So, what's your schedule?" Amelia asked as we walked in the school. I remembered some of the school from my tour, but Skye and Bethany showed me all of my classrooms, which I was very grateful for. After, we went into the library.

The library was very nice, as we walked in there was the librarian's desk. To the left, there were couches and chairs. To the right, there were tables with chairs around them and computers lining up the wall. Behind the sitting and working area were all of the aisles of books with some computers, "We usually sit in here before first bell," Amelia said, walking over to the couches. There was a television in the center that was playing the news. We all took a seat. I pulled out my phone, seeing a text from my mom.

hope your first day goes as amazing as you are! much love xx

I texted her back. "What's form?" I asked, realizing I am not familiar with the class.

"It's like a time where you basically just sit until first bell, some people do homework. On Fridays we do activities that help bring our school together, it's weird," Bethany said, scrolling through her phone.

"So it's like homeroom?" I clarified.

"Possibly, I have no idea what that is," Skye answered. I laughed. The bell rang, making us all stand up and grab our bags. Bethany, Skye, and Amelia all walked me to my form class.

I walked into a spacious room. There were wood tables with four wood stools around them on the right side of the room. On the far right side, there was a teacher's desk and a white board. The left side of the room was open, with counters lining the walls with clay and clay materials on them. There was a door on the wall as well. I saw Niall sitting at a table in the middle and sat down on the stool next to him.

"Us foreigners have to stay together, eh?" I asked, pulling my phone out of my bag.

"Me friends at home just sent me this snap of them at school in their form without me," Niall said, showing me the picture. "Well at least your friends don't torture you with pictures of them laying in bed watching Netflix," I said. opening a snapchat from Sadie of her Netflix. I showed it to Niall. I opened the camera and took a pouty selfie with Niall. I captioned it 'learning time :('

She sent me a picture of her face illuminated by her laptop that asked who the cute boy was. I decided to open up iMessage and text her.

annabelle: that's niall. One of Louis' friends' exchange students. Or a friend of mine I guess.  
sadie: yes please. ship him back to seattle when you come home. where is he from?  
annabelle: ireland. I gtg though love, school is starting miss you very much xoxo  
sadie: yeah I should probaby go to bed. much love anna. xx

The bell rang, meaning that the class was starting. The announcements went off the intercom system. "Hello Don Valley Nation! It's your student body president here, Mikey E!" the boy over the intercom said, not seriously. "Happy first day of school! As a final year student, I know I'm excited! Anyways, today's announcements. We will be hosting a club fair today during dinner break for anyone who wants to sign up for a club! Our own Don Valley cross country team opens the season tonight at eighteen hundred with a home meet! The meet will take place in the Doncaster Recreational Park, be there to cheer them on! That's all I have for today, Don Valley! Have an amazing first day! Signing off, Mikey E!"

There was a blonde woman behind the desk. She was quirky. You could tell by her glasses and youthful style. It didn't look bad, though. She looked like she could be a stylist is she wasn't an art teacher. "Hi. My name is Ms. Teasdale, but most of you should know that because I've had you in this form since your first year here. We're going to take your stool over to the ceramic area because it is more open. Go," she said. I looked at Niall who shrugged. We brought our stools over to the open area and sat next to each other. Niall was to the left of me, and a boy (who was kind of attractive might I add) was to my right. Ms. Teasdale came and sat next to two girls."Okay let's go around and say our names and one interesting fact about yourself. I know we do this every year, but it's good to get a good refresher!" Ms. Teasdale said. "I'm Lou Teasdale, and I love to buy clothes for my young daughter, Lux."

We went around in the circle until it was the boy to my left's turn."My name is Ben, and I run cross country," he said.

He turned his head towards me."My name is Annabelle, and I'm on exchange from Seattle,' I said. I turned my head to Niall.

"My name is Niall and I'm on exchange from Ireland." Once we had finished the circle, we played a game of two truths and a lie. We went around the room and each person said three statements and we had to guess which one was the lie.

"Um, I'm an only child, my parents met each other in a hospital, and I have a dog," I said.

"I bet it's the second one," Ben next to me said. Most people agreed with him. I laughed.

"No, they actually did. My parents are surgeons. I don't have a dog, I have a cat named Maude." I said. We finished the game right as the bell for the next class rang.

I pulled my schedule from the side pocket in my bag. I have ceramics first with Ms. Teasdale, so I just get to stay where I was. I took my stool back to my seat and stayed where I was. A couple of girls walked in and looked at me. Then they started to whisper with each other and they laughed quietly. I pulled out my phone and texted Skye, Bethany, and Amelia.

Annabelle: two girls just walked in and gave me the look and then whispered and laughed. I think they were sophomores. lol.  
Bethany: they don't know how cool you are!  
Amelia: they're probably like wow she's amazing  
Skye: true!

I looked up from my phone when I saw someone sit next to me from my peripheral vision. It was Zayn that sat next to me. "Looks like we have ceramics together," he said. I put my phone away in my bag.

"Dang it Zayn, I thought you were someone trying to make friends with me!" I laughed. Then all of a sudden a girl sat across from me. I recognized her as one of my teammates, so I smiled and waved at her. She sent me a quick smile before going back to her phone.

Once the bell rang, Ms. Teasdale gave us a quick demonstration of what all of the ceramics tools do, saying "This is the advanced class, you all should be fine.". I took ceramics back in Seattle, so I was allowed to take the advanced ceramics class. Once she was done telling us what we were going to cover in the course,and giving us a tour of the room and where we put everything, she told us to create something that represented us in multiple ways. Ms. Teasdale said she was going to fire them tonight so we had to be done by the end of class. She said we would glaze them tomorrow and then she would have them done for Wednesday.

I grabbed a piece of paper, and started to sketch out an idea. Once I was done my sketch, I went over to where the clay was and grabbed a handful of white clay. I got all of the air out of it, and brought it back to my table. I went and got the tools I needed, a rolling pin, some cloth, a needle, and a couple of shaping tools along with a ball tool. I took a seat at my table and started to work. Ms. Teasdale allowed us to have music while we worked, so I grabbed my Beats and listened to some Fifth Harmony.

***

I finished cleaning up from my small piece I had just made right as the bell rang. I put it on the shelf. I made a little piece that was in the shape of The United States, and I had carved pentagons on it to make it look like a soccer ball. On the back I wrote the date I left for here, July 18, 2014. I put on my backpack and washed my hands before leaving the room to go to my next class, History, with Mr. Colton.

I walked into the history room, which had some big tables on the right side, some small groups of desks pushed together, and then some single desks. I saw Louis sitting at a table that can fit five people. I sat next to him."How was your first class?" he asked.

"Pretty good, ceramics with Zayn. We've already started making stuff which is nice. How was yours?" I asked, checking my phone. There was one text from my mom telling me how proud she was of me and everything I do. I replied with a thank you.

"Pretty well, I'm a teacher's aid in a freshman gym class so that will be fun," Louis said. Right as the bell rang, Skye walked into the room and sat next to us at the table. I smiled at her. Our teacher, Mr. Colton, walked in. He looked to be about mid-thirties with glasses. He looked like a really down to earth guy.

"Hello class and welcome to history. My name is Scott Colton, Mr. Colton. I have two daughters and a loving wife at home. Let's take roll, shall we?" He went through the list of names until I heard mine. "Annabelle Moore?"

"Here," I said, raising my hand slightly. "Are you one of our foreign exchange students?" He paused roll call to ask me.

"Yes I am, from Seattle." I said. He nodded.

"That will make the curriculum a lot better!" he said. I nodded. Once he finished roll call, he handed out the syllabus for the class. "Now, I know it's the first day, but I just wanted to hop right in. For the first couple weeks, you will be thinking how to answer this question: How does where you live impact how you live?" As he said the question, he wrote it on the whiteboard. "Having a foreign exchange student in this class will definitely help with this question. Any breif ideas?" Mr. Colton asked. "You guys can call out, I run a discussion based classroom."

"Accents?" one person asked. Mr. Colton wrote it.

"Foods?" I said. He nodded, writing it. There were many ideas thrown around, before he discussed how we would be looking at modern culture this week. The bell rang, and I checked my schedule. Spanish 4 with Mr. Fairburn. I noticed Louis looking over my shoulder.

"Spanish is on the way to my class, I'll walk you," he said. I thanked him, and we walked in silence together. Many people smiled or waved to Louis. "Here's your class, hope it all goes well!"

"Thanks Louis! Bye!" I walked into the classroom. The desks lined the walls in a horseshoe shape. I went to the far side of the room and sat down. Once the bell rang, Mr. Fairburn walked in.

"Hola chicos! Cual es la fecha?" he was asking for the date. We all answered back in Spanish. During the class, we went through some of the basics from last year's class. He gave the class an activity before pulling me out to the hall. "Annabelle, I hear you're from the states. Let me know if the class is too easy or too hard, and I can accommodate."

"Gracias, Senor Fairburn. I'll make sure to let you know. Do you want my last year's teacher email so you can coordinate because honestly I don't specifically remember what we learned," I laughed.

"Si, that'd be great." I wrote down the email on a piece of paper and gave it to him. I walked back into the room and finished the activity with the rest of the class. We played a game to work on our pronuciation. The bell rang, and I checked my schedule. I had lunch.

I grabbed my backpack and threw it over my shoulder. I walked to the cafeteria, I looked for anyone I may have known. The cafeteria was big. There was the lunch line straight when you walked in, and to the right there was all of the circular tables. I was standing at the front of the cafeteria awkwardly. I couldn't find any of my footie friends or Louis, Zayn, Harry, Niall or Liam. There was a tap on my shoulder. I turned around, and saw Bethany. "Oh thank gosh," I said. "I couldn't find any of you guys!"

"I'll show you to our table," Bethany said, She led me down the aisle until she stopped. I sat down in between Louis and Amelia. I took off my backpack and put it down next to me. I opened it and grabbed my lunch box that Jay had packed me. I opened the red L.L. Bean lunch box. There was a container filled with pasta salad, a cheese stick, an apple, some goldfish crackers, a juice box, and a granola bar.

"You got pasta salad?!" Louis exclaimed. He took out his sandwich and waved it around for emphasis. I smirked and shrugged, opening my pasta salad and grabbed my fork. I grabbed my phone and checked it. There were no new messages from anyone. I decided to check Instagram.

"Are you ready for our first game Wednesday?" Bethany asked.

"Definitely, I think it will be fun. I don't know about the competition though, or who we're playing against," I said. I didn't really know how the school sports worked here in England.

"We're playing against the public school here in Doncaster here," Skye said. She stabbed her salad with her fork. I finished my pasta salad and ate my apple. I ate my crackers, having a casual conversation with my friends. Once the bell rang, I walked with Bethany into our maths class. Our teacher was quite nice, which was definitely better than the teacher I had back in Seattle. The class was a lot of fun due to the people we had in there. They were all so funny and the teacher laughed along which was great.

Once the bell rang, I walked to my chemistry class where I saw Harry and Niall sitting at a lab bench together. I took a seat next to them. "Sorry that's taken-" Harry starts

"Harry Styles, don't you dare start with me mister. This is now my seat," I sarcastically said. The kid that set next to me in our form circle today, Ben I think his name was, sat next to me when he walked in. He smiled at me, and I returned it. We started off class when the teacher came in, a young woman with brown hair. She dressed very nicely. We went over the syllabus for the class and handed us all an index card. She told us to fold it in half and write our names on the front with a marker from the bins on the benches.

I grabbed each a purple and teal marker. Harry grabbed orange and Niall green. Ben grabbed red. I wrote 'Annabelle' in the teal towards the top and 'Anna' in parentheses in purple. Mrs. Walker had us write simple facts like where we were from, our birthday, favorite food and music, and then three other facts about ourselves.

Where I'm From: Seattle, Washington  
Birthday: July 26, 1997 (17 years old)  
Favorite Food: Icecream  
Favorite Music: American Authors, The Script, Fifth Harmony  
Facts: I play soccer and run track, I'm a foreign exchange student, and I am a dog person but I have a cat.

We finished our cards right before the bell rang."Annabelle!" Ben exclaimed as I went to leave.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Where are you going?"

"Out to my host brother's car to get my footie bag. I have practice at 2:20 until 3:50," I said. I looked at my watch to make sure I wouldn't be late.

"Oh, what are you doing after that?" he asked.

"Nothing that I know of," I said.

"I have a cross country meet, and I know you run track so I didn't know if you wanted to come? Our team does a team dinner right there after the meet, and you can join if you'd like to maybe meet new friends?"

"That sounds like fun! I'll ask my host mother after practice and I'll let you know," I said.

"Well let me give you my number so you can text me," he said. I handed the black haired boy my phone. He entered the number and gave it back. I smiled and waved before going to the parking lot to grab my bag.

"What took you so long?" Louis asked when I approached him. He was leaning against the car swiping through his phone.

"Ben, he's in your year and he runs cross country- he asked me to go to his meet tonight and I was just thinking about going. I used to go to all of the ones for my school."

"He's a good guy."

"I'm not going to date him, Louis. I'm leaving in June, remember?" I said as I opened the backseat. I put my school bag in there and grabbed my duffel. It was cloudy now and still quite chilly.

"Well, you could. Have a fling, you know?"

"I'm not supposed to do anything life-changing while I'm over here, you dimwat." I walked into the school with Louis and I went into the girl's locker room. I found Bethany, Skye and Amelia who were almost done changing. They asked me what took so long so I explained.

"I'm going to the meet too! I can give you a ride if you'd like!" Skye said. I told her I still had to ask Jay but if she says yes I'll take her up on that offer. Once I was changed we walked out to the fields and put on our cleats.

Practice was nice today, we worked on endurance by going on a thirty minute campus run. I ran with the soccer star squad. We had a good pace, but we spent a lot of time fooling around. After our run, we worked on some drills before it was time to go.

I went to Louis' car and got in. His practice got out at four, so I had some time. I browsed Twitter and listened to some music while I waited.

A sweaty Louis got in, making my face scrunch up in mock disgust. "Need anything before we go home?" I shook my head. We talk about our day on the ride. When we got to the house, I took my bags up to my room. I set my school bag next to my bed. I grabbed the dirty clothes from my duffel and put it in the hamper. I grabbed my lunch box that was empty and brought it to the kitchen.

"How was your day, Anna?" Dan asked.

"It was good!"

"Do you like the school and the people?"

"Yeah! I like my teachers a lot and I'm getting to know people. Speaking of that, where's Jay? Can I ask you two something?"

"She's right on the porch. How about we talk about it there?" I nodded. I went out to the porch and took a seat next to Jay on one of the chairs.

"What's up Anna?"

"Well, there's a cross country meet tonight at six. I wanted to go because I used to go to them in Seattle, but then a boy in my form asked me to go because he runs on the team. They have a dinner for the team and the families and he asked me to join. I mentioned it to Skye, and she said she was going to go too, but not to the dinner. She offered to bring me and then Ben would bring me home. Is that okay?" I asked.

"What time should it be over?" Jay asked.

"Eight, eight thirty at latest."

"I don't see why not. I would like to meet this Ben after though," Dan said. I nodded. I said thank you and ran upstairs to shower.

Once I was in my room, I went through my clothes to find something. I settled with a light pink pair of chino shorts, my navy Vineyard Vines quarter zip sweatshirt, and a pair of boat shoes. I showered and got dressed. I decided to shoot Ben a text.

Annabelle to Ben Havard: Hey Ben, it's Annabelle. I'm all set to go. Skye wanted to go too, so I'll have a ride. Can you bring me home? My host parents said they wanted to meet you x

I thought about not sending the x, but I just went for it.

Ben: sounds good! thx for coming! xx

I tried to ignore the fact that Ben not only sent me one x, but two. I decided to ignore it and blow dried my hair before straightening it. I put on a brown belt and put on some makeup. I added a headband and put on my shoes. I looked myself over in the mirror, unsure. I decided to ask Lottie. I walked into her room. (outfit is the picture that is on the top)

"Lottie, does this look okay? I'm hanging out with a friend that might I mention is a boy- for the first time,"

"What are you doing?"

"Going to his cross country meet and then having dinner," I said.

"It's perfect, Anna. You look great."

"Thank you. I'm heading downstairs for a snack, care to join?"

"Fizzy just went down for one, but I'm all set, thanks. Have fun tonight!" I said thank you, and went downstairs. I went straight into the kitchen for a granola bar. After I ate it, I got a text from Skye.

Skye: on my way! it's about half an hour to get there to the meet  
Annabelle: i'll be ready xx

I grabbed my purse and made sure that I had my sunglasses, key, and wallet. I was all set. I went out to the porch to let Jay and Dan know I was leaving. Once they had asked me some questions, I heard Skye honk to let me know she was here. I ran around the house and waved to her once she was in sight. I got in, and we jammed to music all the way there.

The park where the cross country meet was being held was beautiful. We had a half an hour before the race went off, so Skye showed me all of the places we could go and watch for the 5k race. Once we had figured it out, we went back to the start line. There were four schools we were going against. They were running the boys race after the girls' one. The girls went off, which was fun to run around the course and watch.

"Now that the boys are going, we'll have less time to get to each spot," Skye said. The sun came out all of a sudden, so I put on my sunglasses. We stood about one hundred meters from the start line. We heard the gun go off, meaning the race had started. I started my stopwatch on my phone right as it went off. We ran to the first spot, right as the boys went by. Ben was in the lead pack with two others from Don Valley, and then three other runners. I cheered for him before going to the next spot. We continued to do this until the race was over. Ben's time was a 16:14 which was not bad.

"Nice job out there, Ben!" I said, as Ben approached me, carrying a cup of water.

"Thanks, Anna. Thank you for coming- and wow- you look nice."

"I look better when I'm not in uniform huh?" I laughed. Right near where the finish was, the parents had set up tables for food. Skye said goodbye to me and made sure I was okay. I nodded.

"You're probably hungry, let's go get food?" Ben asked. I smiled and we got in line.

"Ben! Nice race out there!" a boy, one of the ones that was running with Ben during the race said.

"Thank you Andrew! You as well! You had a crazy kick at the end, John!"

"Are these your pack members?" I asked, gesturing to the two boys.

"You could call them that, yes," Ben laughed. We reached the front of the line. Ben grabbed himself a plate and handed one to me. I filled my plate with salad, baked ziti, a roll, and some other food before grabbing a water. Ben led me to the circle where all of his teammates were. I sat down on the ground next to him, realizing I never grabbed a fork.

"Oh, I forgot a fork," I said, putting my plate on the ground and going to stand up.

"I'll go grab you one," Ben said. He touched my shoulder and I sat back down. I thanked him. The cross country team was very nice to me, asking me all about life here and in America. Once Ben came back, fork in hand, I ate my food and talked with Ben to get to know him. After we ate, Ben asked me something.

"Do you want to grab an icecream before I take you home? We'll get to your house around twenty thirty."

"I'll text my host mom to let her know," I replied.

"Okay, I'm going to go and get changed, I'll be right back."

I went into the first conversation that had the name Jay in it and texted in it.

Annabelle: Ben wants to grab an icecream, I'll be home by 8:30, is that ok?  
Fizzy: ANNA'S GOT A BOYYYFRIENDDDDD  
Lottie: get some anna xx  
Annabelle: oh no I sent this in the fam chat  
Jay: Girls! Yes, Anna, that's fine, text me if you're running late?  
Annabelle: will do

I locked my phone right as I saw Ben come out of the restroom. He was wearing a pair of Navy blue shorts, a white button up (with the sleeves rolled up), a brown belt, aviator sunglasses, and boat shoes. "We're matching!" I said.

"We are!" he laughed. I had one of Ben's teammates take a picture of us. We laughed at the picture, and then went to Ben's car to get icecream. "What kind of music do you like?"

"Um, FIfth Harmony, The Script, and American Authors mainly."

"I have the American Authors' album!" Ben exclaimed, plugging in his phone into the aux cord. He played the album on shuffle, and we were just dancing and singing along. Ben pulled into a small icecream shop. I grabbed my purse, and went inside. It wasn't busy at all, which made me happy. I ordered one scoop of chocolate chip on a cake cone with rainbow sprinkles. Ben got a two scoop of strawberry on a sugar cone. We sat in the dining area and talked as we ate our icecream.

Once we had finished, we went back home. "This is Ben, my friend, and Ben, this is Jay and Dan, my host parents," I said once we were back at my house.

"Nice to meet you Jay and Dan, I feel like Anna and I will be very good friends," Ben said, shaking each Jay and Dan's hands. After we talked for awhile, Ben went home and I went upstairs to my room. I posted the picture that we took on Instagram.

I had an amazing time watching your meet today Ben! thank you for an amazing night :-) @benhavard


	7. six

Beep. Beep. Beep. I had just bought a mansion and all of a sudden a moving truck had backed into it. Wait. That did not sound like a moving truck. It was more annoying.

I opened my eyes and lift up my head. Dang. The mansion that seemed so real was just a dream and the moving truck was my alarm. I slam down the snooze button and put my head back on my pillow. I did not want to get up today. I could hear the rain hitting the roof, the joy of England. It also was the first home football match today and I was feeling nervous. Once my alarm had gone off again, I shut it off and got out of bed. I walked into the hallway in my soccer camp sweatpants and a sports bra to grab my phone. I checked the time, 06:43 it read. I went back into my room and quickly made my bed. I had some time before I needed to shower, so I sat on my bed and checked my social media.

@DonValley_Athletics: Girls' football starts of the season with a footie match at Don Valley today! Make sure to come by and wear your blue and white! Game starts at 17:00 rain or shine!

I retweeted the tweet about our soccer game.

@annabellemoore: are we excited for the match tonight??? @skyewellington @bethcroft6 @AmeliaHamilton

I browsed my Facebook to see what my friends at home were up to lately. I found out that my soccer team back home won their first game, which was bittersweet. I was excited for them because they won, and it made me feel like my team has given me the power to win today. At the same time, I wish I was there to share the victory. I sighed and got my uniform together for school. A skirt, tights, black flats, and a navy sweater. I plugged in my phone and played the American Authors album.

Once I was clean and dressed, I blow dried my hair and pulled it up into a ponytail. Once it was secure, I messed with it until I was satisfied. I opened my Snapchat app and took a mirror selfie that showed off my hair. 'messy pony look okay??' I captioned it and sent it to Amelia. She's the fashionable one in the group. She sent me one back of her hair and said 'I got the same thing goin on girl' so I took that as a yes. I grabbed my phone and checked my duffel bag to make sure that it was packed for the game tonight. Once it was, I went downstairs and set my bags down by the shoes. I walked into the kitchen to see Jay writing things on the calendar that was on the fridge. I took a seat on the island.

"Jay, have you seen my Beats? I didn't see them upstairs this morning," I said.

"Oh, Anna! They're right there on the island." I looked and saw them right in front of me. Whoops. I opened my phone, looking at my lockscreen of me and my host family from when I first came here. I unlocked my phone and opened up my music and put the American Authors album on shuffle. I put my headphones on one ear so I could still hear what's going on. I looked at the calendar that jay had just finished writing on. There was a haircut for me and the girls this weekend after practice.

"I'm thinking of getting my hair cut short," I said to Jay, gesturing my head towards the calendar. My hair was right above my belly button. I liked it, but I was thinking I needed a change.

"Please check in with Elise first," Jay said. I laughed and nodded. Jay wished me a good day at school and went into her room. I started a kettle of water for some tea. Louis has gotten me addicted. I texted him to let him know.

Annabelle: lou I started a kettle for tea do you want me to make one for you when its ready? x  
Louis: yes please!! two sugars and some milk! xx  
Annabelle: I know how to make your tea we like it the same way silly goose!

I opened the fridge to see if anything in there will inspire me. I squatted down so I can see everything in there. "There's fruit salad," I heard Lottie's voice behind me. I nodded, thanked her, and took it out. I also grabbed some yogurt from the fridge and granola from a cupboard. I scooped some yogurt into a bowl and add the granola. Then I got a small glass bowl and added some of the fruit salad. Once I was done gathering my breakfast, the tea kettle went off. I grabbed two mugs, mine which was blue and said Seattle on it, the other was a white mug with a soccer ball on it. I poured the water into the mugs, and got some Yorkshire tea bags and put them in. I added milk and sugar right as Louis came downstairs.

"Annabelle, you're the best," he said, picking up his mug and resting his elbows on the island next to me.

"Thanks, I try. I actually have to call my parents right now, want it on speaker?" I asked. Louis really liked my parents. Louis nodded. I dialed the hospital's number.

"Hello, Seattle Hospital," I hear a man's voice on the other line.

"Hi, this is Annabelle Moore, and I need both of my parents please. Usually Sara will put me in a three way conference call with them. Is that possible?" I asked.

"Let me give you someone that can help you, I'm new." I heard some muffling and some voices, before I heard Sara's voice.

"Anna! I'll get you on that call in just a second. Jesse here is new so I'm showing him the ropes." After a couple of minutes I hear the infamous:

"Dr. Moore, you have a call. It's Annabelle."

"Put her on speaker!" my dad said. I went through the same thing with my mom.

"Hi mom! Hi dad!" I said.

"Hi baby girl!" my dad said.

"Okay, so here's what's going on. I have a soccer game today and since Seattle won theirs last night, I'm thinking that that is good luck and it's a sign for my team to win tonight!"

"That's great! I wish you the best of luck," my mom said.

"Also, tomorrow after practice all the girls have a haircut and I'm thinking of getting it cut short," I said, nervously. My parents were fairly laid back (as laid back as surgeons can be). They usually let me do what I want with some time to think about it.

"How short?" they both asked.

"I was thinking like past my shoulders by like three inches. So not too short."

"I think you'll look great! Thank you for checking in and asking mi amor," my mom said. Ever since I was little, my mom has been speaking a little of Spanish with me.

"Te amo mucho, mama. And you, papi. I've got to go to school now," I said. They said goodbye.

I looked at my yogurt and granola and finished eating it. I sipped my tea and picked at my fruit. I was always a slow eater, and that's why I wake up quite early for school. I needed time to eat. I scrolled through my Twitter, retweeting some funny or cute tweets. Before I knew it, I was done with my breakfast. I put the dishes in the dishwasher before I jogged upstairs to brush my teeth.

I played a song as I brushed my teeth. Once I was done, I went downstairs and grabbed my lunch box that Jay had packed for everybody. Bless her heart, she got up before going to work and made different school lunches for six different kids. Louis was in his last year of high school and he still didn't have to make his own lunch.

Once we were all ready, we got into Louis' car to go to school. I made sure to grab my black rain coat before leaving. We made a run to the car to dry and stay dry.

Once we arrived at school, I walked straight into the library to meet up with Amelia, Skye, and Bethany. We talked about the game today and went over strategies. Since Bethany was our goalie and I was the defender, she gave me some insider tips on the team we were playing, Doncaster Public School. Apparently their defenders were very pushy, so Bethany told me to stay on one girl who was particularly pushy. I nodded, and the bell rang. We all walked to Ms. Teasdale's room and my friends dropped me off.

I went and sat next to Niall. We talked for awhile before the bell rang, and the announcements were made. I didn't really pay attention though, I was on my phone. After form and once Ceramics started, we were learning about adding more complex texture onto pieces of art. We spent the class being lectured and taking notes. Once the bell rang, I made my way to History with Mr. Colton.

"Today we are going to be answering the question you've been talking about for the past week. How does where you live, impact how you live. For your final project on this subject, you will get into groups of two or three and create a presentation. This paper that I am passing out now shows what it will need to include. In brief, you will choose two different places, it could be cities or countries, I don't care. I also don't care how you present it. You all can choose your groups," Mr. Colton started the class. I looked at Louis and Skye and we all decided to be a group.

The presentation had to include different categories as to why they were different, like climate and natural resources. We got to work on the project for the entire class. We tried to work, but ended up talking about footie.

"So, is your project about football teams or countries?" Mr. Colton said as he walked up to us and whacked all of us on the head with his rolled up newspaper.

"Dearest Mr. Colton, it is most definitely about countries, but we were just comparing how America does not appreciate the brilliant sport that is football, they would much rather watch a sport called football that does not involve the feet at all. Annabelle, here does appreciate the sport of football and that is why she belongs here in the fantastic country that is England," Louis tried to explain our motives to Mr. Colton.

"Sounds about right," Skye defended him. Mr. Colton laughed and walked away to check on other groups. After we had the outline for our slideshow, the bell had rung. I walked with Louis to Spanish, and many people waved to him. 

"How do you have so many friends?" I asked. 

"Acquaintances, more or less," Louis laughed next to me. 

"Either way," I said.

"Are you excited for the game?" Louis asked, and I nodded in reply. "Have you heard about our school's fall semi-formal? It's next Friday night. You should come," he added. 

"I would love to! I'll need a dress," I said. "Thank you for putting it out there."

"You're welcome. Have a fun time in Spanish," he said as we arrived at Mr. Fairburn's room. I waved Louis goodbye and walked in. I took my seat, and pulled out my notebook and started writing in my daily journal in Spanish. Each day, we were to write in the notebook in Spanish for ten to fifteen minutes. I wrote about how I was adjusting really well here, and how I really liked my host family and everything that they were doing for me. 

Spanish flew by with a wink of an eye, and I was off to lunch. I had my headphones on and walked down the hallway before someone tapped my shoulder. 

"Ben! You scared me!" I laughed, once I noticed it was Ben who had tapped my shoulders. I paused my music and put my headphones around my neck. 

"I promise I didn't mean to love," he said. I smiled, and he walked me to lunch. He joined me at our table, and I grabbed my lunch box from my bag. 

"I got leftovers from last night's Chinese take away," Louis stated. 

"I'm jealous!" I said. I pulled out my chicken soup. "Lou, can we please switch?" I asked.

"Yes please, I do not want day old take away," Louis handed me his veggie lo mein and I gave him my soup. I went up to the microwave and heated it up. 

Back at my seat, I stuck my fork into the lo mein. Louis ate his soup with a content look on his face. I was browsing my phone, not really interested in the current conversation about the politics here in Britain. I noticed I got a call from Sadie. I hit the green answer button and put my headphones in. 

"Anna, aren't you at school?" Sadie asked me. 

"Sadie, isn't it four in the morning?" I asked, looking at my watch that read twelve. 

"Well, yes, but-" she groaned. "I don't know why I'm up, but school starts today and it feels weird without you by my side."

"I know, but hey, you won your first game last night! That's great!" 

"It was weird playing without you as my defender," she sighed.

"I know, it's weird playing here without you as a goalie."

"Hey!" Bethany stopped her conversation to but in on mine. Her black hair shook a bit as she made her remark.

"Who was that?" Sadie asked. 

"Bethany, she was offended because I said it was weird without you in goal, because she is our goalie," I explained. Me and Sadie decided to say goodbye shortly after that because she was going to try and get another hour of sleep before school started. 

I ate my lo mein and an apple before the bell rang. "Aren't you going to eat more? You have a game today," Louis addressed. 

"I am, we have plenty of time in between school and the game and me and the girls are hanging out in the locker room so I was just going to eat there," I said. I walked to my maths class which was a bore. I'm not much of a fan of it, I would rather be in science any day. The only reason the class flew by was because Bethany kept me entertained. We did not even get yelled at by the teacher as we were fooling around. 

On the whiteboard in my chemistry room, I looked at the agenda for the week. I noticed that today we would be taking notes on writing and balancing equations, so I got out my baby pink notebook and a pencil. I was also the first one in the room after fourth period which was weird. I opened my notebook and started to doodle a flower design on the back page.

"That's adorable," I heard Ben say as he took his seat next to me. He leaned towards me to take a look at the small design. I pushed my notebook towards him.

"Don't have to be so close," Harry said, pushing Ben's stool a couple feet away from you. I decided to play it off as a joke and laugh. Ben's face grew red and his blue eyes looked at Harry before turning back to me. I mouthed the word 'sorry' to him. He held up a finger as to tell me to wait a minute and pulled out his phone. I decided to grab mine as well and tell Harry off by texting him.

Annabelle: you're literally a dimwat what do you think you were doing!!!!!  
Harry: he was trying to flirt w/ you.  
Annabelle: no he wasn't!!! he was looking at something I drew!! even if he was, it's a) none of your business and b) I can tell him I'm not interested on my own!  
Harry: who said you're not interested??  
Annabelle: I don't really want to date someone when I'm leaving in oh, ten months.

At that moment, I got a text from Ben.

Ben: it's okay, I get that they're protective over you.  
Annabelle: you mean Louis and his friends?  
Ben: yeah. I wasn't trying to flirt with you anyway, I get that you don't want to date anyone while you're here. I still would love to be your friend though :-)  
Annabelle: I never said that  
Ben: I get that vibe from you. It doesn't mean that it won't stop me from trying to woo you :-) 

"Mr. Havard, Mr. Styles, Miss Moore, phones need to be away. Did you even hear the bell ring?" Mrs. Walker said as she walked into the room. She walked right over to us, and held out her hand and raised her eyebrows. Ben put his phone in her hand, followed by me and Harry. Niall was just sitting on the end of the lab bench laughing and hitting the table with his fist. "You will get these back after class." I never even noticed how quiet the class was and that every single person was staring at us.

Mrs. Walker went back to her desk, put our phones in it, and started the lesson. 

***

Once I had my phone back, I went to the car park to get my soccer bag from Louis' car and drop off my bag. It was pouring out (still). I went to the locker room with my duffel and lunch box, I saw Skye, Amelia, and Bethany sitting on some mats. I joined them after I took off my raincoat. We all ate some food before deciding to get on our uniforms and get ready for the game. We got a pep talk from Coach Nolan and headed out to the field. We did our warm ups and the bleachers started to fill up with students and families. I noticed my host family and smiled. I was so lucky to have such a supportive host family.

I was starting the game and so was Bethany in goal. Before the whistle blew, I looked at Bethany nervously. I took a deep breath and mentally prepared myself. Bethany pointed at the girl that I was going to stay on, and I nodded. She was a very muscular girl who looked as if she could run me down. She gave me a dirty look before the game started. Our center got the ball and had it towards our offensive side, so I was a couple yards away from the girl. Once the ball was on my side though, I was right on her, but careful to not get called by the referees. It was really hard to see in all of the rain and there were puddles all over the field.

I could here the crowd cheering us on. I got the ball from Skye, who's on defense, and I pass it to our center who can sprint very fast. She took the ball and sprinted with it before shooting and making our first goal! She ran back towards me and we jumped and hugged. 

By halftime, I had been playing the entire half. We were tied three to three. Coach decided to have me sitting for a while. His reasoning was that "We're probably going to go into over time and I need you then, ready to go."

I drank some of my gatorade and followed that with water. I watched as we stayed tied for the rest of the half. We had two ten minute periods for over time, and whoever had the most at the end won. 

Coach sent me in for the over time, and told us to score early and defend for the rest of the time. I continued to stay on the girl. At one point, Amelia had the ball and she tried to kick the ball to score, but fell because of the slippery field even though she was wearing cleats. The magic thing was that the ball still went in, the goalie too caught up with the fact that Amelia fell. Skye, Bethany and I all sprinted to her and gave her a big group hug, smiling and jumping up and down. We were ahead by one and still had three minutes left of the second over time period. 

Now all I had to do was defend, defend, defend. A sudden adrenaline rush went through me, and my body was on overdrive, not allowing the ball to go even close to the goal. The ball came towards me and I sprinted to get it and I quickly passed it to Skye. The girl from the other team was sprinting at me and right after I kicked the ball to Skye, she ran into me and we both fell. I landed in a big puddle, turning my soaked white uniform brown and green. The referee did not call it, and I was not going to retaliate for risk of them getting an advantage.

The girl gave me a look and jogged away. I stood up and went back onto her to continue defending my team. When she was close to the goal, Bethany made it look like she accidentally tripped her and she fell face first into a puddle. The referee did not call that move either. I was extremely grateful for Bethany at that point. 

The ending siren rang, and we all ran into the center for a huge team hug. The rain was still continuing to pour, but at that point we didn't even care. Coach Nolan gave us fist bumps and said many congratulations. I went over to my host family, who were all in raincoats and had umbrellas. 

"Nice job out there, Annabelle!" Dan said, patting me on the head. 

"You played amazingly! You took that shove like a champ!" Louis exclaimed, running up and giving me a hug. I hugged him back. 

Bethany's mom is a professional photographer, and she took pictures the entire game. She took a picture of me and my host family in the pouring rain. 

"Hey nice job out there!" Ben said, giving me a hug.

"Thank you!" I said. We talked for awhile before I was interrupted.

"Hey, I just wanted to apologize for pushing you down on the field," the girl said.

"Sorry for being on you the entire time," I laughed. I was not even sorry, but I wasn't about to forgive the girl, she did not even look sorry.

"Anna, my mom wants a picture of us!" Bethany came running over to me. She grabbed my hand, gave the girl a dirty look, and we ran back to get some pictures. We all headed back to the locker room afterwards to shower and get changed. I showered fairly quickly, mostly using it to warm up. I got dressed in a pair of navy Don Valley sweatpants, my L.L. Bean boots, a Vineyard Vines fleece, and a raincoat. I put my uniform and towel in my bag and went out to my host family's car. They congratulated me and we drove home. 

At home, we had a family movie night of watching Grease, which happened to be Louis' favorite movie. It was a great night. A win in soccer, with the support of friends and family by my side.


	8. seven

The week dragged by, nothing much happened except for classes and practice. The weekend had finally come, meaning sleeping in. I had hoped to sleep in, but it was not possible due to three people. Daisy, Phoebe, and a good old Louis. They had come into my room and threw shoes at me.

"I swear, if you guys do not stop-" I said once I had become aware of the monstrosities going on. I scooted down underneath my covers and pulled the blankets over my head to give me a barrier from their attacks. Once I thought it was clear, I peeked my head out from the blankets, to see Louis whispering to the girls. They nodded, and ran up onto my bed and started jumping up and down.

"Morning, Anna!" Louis said, walking over to my bed.

"You're cleaning up this mess," I groaned, referring to the shoes on my bed.

"I will, don't worry. There's full English being made downstairs, I'd say shower and get dressed before heading down there with a huge appetite."

At that moment, Louis and the twins left. I got out of bed and looked out the window to see the leaves changing color and the sky a bright blue. I checked my clock that read 07:13. It made me want to cry. I threw on a sweatshirt over my sports bra, and went into the hall to grab my phone. I see a text from Ben.

Ben Havard: do you have any plans today? I'd like to take you out. :-)

Annabelle: not that I know of! Jay is making a full english, I can let you know afterwards, if that works?

Ben: sounds perfect :)

I went into my closet and pulled out a pair of dark skinny jeans, a cream and black striped sweater with a red vest, cream boot socks, and a belt, I went into the bathroom to get ready. After my shower, I straightened my hair and went downstairs to see plates all set out at the dining room with possibly the most food ever.

There was a huge plate of beans, bacon, a fried egg, a grilled tomato, sausage, and toast with butter. Jay came into the dining room with a plate of fried mushrooms. "I wasn't sure how you felt about the mushrooms, but they're here if you want them."

"Thank you Jay, this is amazing."

"Don't feel like you need to eat it all, either," Dan said, coming in with a carton of milk and glasses.

"There's tea in the kitchen," Louis said, coming out with a mug. I stood from my seat and made myself a mug of tea before going out to the dining room to dig in.

The conversation ranged from school and soccer to how I was adjusting and if there were any problems.

"Anything you are missing, Anna?" Lottie asked, taking a bite of her egg. I finished my bite of sausage and thought for a moment.

"Obviously my friends, my family, I'm mad that my parents got a dog without me, and the candy."

"What did they end up naming him? What breed is he?"

"He's a German Shepard, and we decided to name him Ref," I answered. Louis was sipping his tea before he laughed and spit it out all over himself. "Why is that funny?" I asked.

"Like as in referee? That's amazing!" he laughed.

"It's literally not even that funny."

"Anna, remember we have the haircut at 9:30 so be ready," Jay said.

"Oh yeah! Ben was wondering if I could hang out with him today?" I asked.

"Sure! What would you be doing?"

"I'm not sure, but he will probably pick me up so he can tell you then."

"How about he comes along to your haircut?" She asked. I told her I'd ask. We finished breakfast around 8:30, so I decided to call Ben.

"Hey," he answered.

"Hi, so I have a haircut at 9:30, but Jay said that you could join if you want and we can leave right after," I said.

"That sounds good! Where is it?" I told him the address for the hair salon. I asked where we were going when we were hanging out.

"It's a surprise, but wear warm clothes because we will be outside. Also shoes that you don't mind walking in or getting dirty," he said. That made me worry. I had no idea where we would be going. I passed the time until we had to leave for our haircut by playing Scrabble with Louis, in which he won. Once it was time to go, I threw on my L.L. Bean boots, and a purse that had my wallet and such in it. I got in the van with all of the girls, and we drove to the hair place.

Once we arrived, we all went in. It was a very comfortable place, with leather couch seating surrounded by a television next to the salon chair.

"Cathy!" Jay said, giving the hair dresser a hug. I looked to Lottie next to me, giving her a confused look.

"She's mum's friend, she does it here by herself." I nodded, understanding why there was only one chair and why it was so comfortable.

"This is Annabelle, my foreign exchange daughter I was telling you about," Jay put a hand on my back to introduce me.

"Hi, Annabelle," the middle aged woman shook my hand.

"Hello."

I sat in the chair and looked at myself in the mirror. Cathy started to mess with my hair, putting it over my shoulders. "What would you like to with it?" she asked.

"I wanted to take about a foot off and have it go to my collar bone," I put my hands where I wanted my hair to be.

"A foot?" she asked.

"Oh, um, thirty centimeters," I said, forgetting she didn't understand the weird American system.

"Do you want to donate it?" At this time, Ben walked into the door and smiled at me. I waved to him.

"Sure!" I said. I'd be happy for my hair to go to someone that needed it. Cathy nodded, and walked back to get some stuff. She came out and brushed my hair out and tied it into four ponytails. She asked me where I was from and how I was liking England, and I told her how I loved it here.

"Do you want to be surprised on how it looks?" she asked. I nodded. She spun the chair around so I was no longer facing the mirror.

"Are you ready?" she asked, with a ponytail in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other. I took a deep breath and nodded. I heard her cutting my hair off, and I couldn't help but close my eyes tightly. Once she cut all of the ponytails off, she showed me the amount of hair she had just cut off.

"Oh my gosh that's so much!" I took the ponytails in my hands. As she cleaned up my hair and made it look nice, I marveled in the hair that would be going to someone who truly needed it. It didn't take Cathy that long to clean up my hair. She finished just as she started, putting it over my shoulders.

"Hold up your hair and let me take a picture!" Jay said, pulling out her phone. I jokingly rolled my eyes and held up the hair. I stuck my tongue and crossed my eyes.

"A normal one please!"

I pouted at her.

"Anna!"

"Okay, okay!" I said, smiling. After the pictures, Cathy covered my eyes with her hands and turned me around to the mirror.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"Show me!" I exclaimed. She let her hands off of my face. I looked into the mirror and immediately smiled. It looked so fresh and lightweight. I played with it a little. "I love it!" I said. I payed Cathy before sitting down on one of the couches next to Ben.

"I told Mrs. Deakin where we'd be going, so we're all set," he said. I nodded. I said goodbye to the girls and Jay, and headed out to Ben's car.

"I love your hair," he said, opening my door for me.

"Thank you, I do too!" I said. I checked my phone and of course, there was a Facebook notification.

Johannah Deakin: this girl was very brave today and cut off about 30 cm of her hair to give to charity! Love your new hair, Anna! - with Annabelle Moore, Elise Moore, and Joseph Moore

The pictures were all of the pictures that she took, the funny one, sad one, and normal one. I saved the normal one and tweeted it.

@annabellemoore: just donated a foot of my hair!

Immediately, Sadie favorited it and retweeted it.

@sadiefranklin_: love love love it!! miss you bff!! xo

I favorited it. "Can you tell me where we're going now?" I asked Ben, putting my phone away.

"Nope." 

"Please?" I questioned.

Ben took a turn down a busy road and into a parking lot of a coffee shop. Ben pulled into a space and shut the car off. He came around and opened my door for me. 

"How is it that we always dress with the same style?" I asked, looking at his outfit. He was wearing a pair of L.L. Bean boots identical to mine, a pair of jeans that he rolled up, with a white shirt and a navy jacket. We ordered tea, I ordered Yorkshire with two sugars and a dash of milk. Ben insisted on paying for mine. We went and took a seat by the window that looked out onto the surprisingly busy street.

It was most definitely chilly outside, even though the sun was out. I wrapped my hands around the mug, warming myself. "Are you sure you can't tell me where we're going?"

Ben laughed. "No, Anna. It's going to be a surprise."

I rolled my eyes and took a sip of my tea. We talked about little things, like how I am liking my host family. "Was it hard going from being an only child to living with five other siblings?"

"Well, yeah. I was overwhelmed by the crowded meals and the busy mornings, but we all work really well together. It's nice having so many personalities around," I replied. I took a sip of my tea. 

"I totally get that. I have two brothers and a sister," Ben said. I asked about them, and he said that he was the third child, and everybody in his family runs. His younger brother, Luke, is on the cross country team as well. I asked if he was running track in the spring. 

"Of course!"

"No way me too!"

"Distance or sprinting?"

"Mid! I run the 800, 400, and the 4x400 at my school!"

"This season will be great." I smiled at his comment. I finished my tea, and we went back to the car. We decided to play the radio.

After a couple of songs, Shake It Off by Taylor Swift came on and I looked over to Ben with an excited look on my face. "Taylor Swift my girl!" I exclaimed. Ben laughed and turned up the radio way too loud for eleven in the morning on a Saturday.

We both started to sing and dance. I took out my phone and started recording a video on Snapchat. We were both singing and being silly. I added it to my story. I got a text from Sadie.

Sadie: who's the boy????? why are there so many cute boys in england????  
Anna: that's ben. but not my coordinator ben, that's cute runner boy ben.  
Sadie: HE RUNS?! give him to me.  
Anna: we also have the same style.  
Sadie: marry him!!!!!!!!  
Anna: it may end up being a thing idk he won't tell me where we're going

Ben started driving into the more rural side of town, and pulled down a long dirt road. I saw a sign that said: Aker's Apple Orchard

"You're taking me apple picking?" I asked, getting excited.

"Yes! I hope that's okay" Ben said. He parked the car and we got out. We walked down a dirt path down a hill to a stand. There was an older man sitting on a stool behind the stand. 

"Ben!" the man said.

"Hi, Alden," Ben replied. He shook the man's hand and they talked for a little bit. The man, Alden, asked Ben who I was.

"This is Annabelle, and she's on exchange from Seattle." I shook the man's hand. Alden gave us a bag each and told us where the best picking was for the day. We walked in the direction that he told us.

"Who was that?" I asked.

"My dad is best friends with the owner of this orchard. That is the owner's father." I nodded. We walked up a row of Cortland apples, going to the far back as told. The trees were plentiful of fruit, making me smile in joy. I walked up to a tree, and started to grab an apple. Ben stood behind me, and grabbed the apple I was just about to get. "That one is mine, Anna," he laughed. I turned around to face him. 

"That was a really good apple!" I pouted, crossing my arms. 

"Turn that frown upside down, we'll find you a better apple," Ben said. I smiled because of his words. He was just too caring and nice. "There we go," he smiled when he noticed I was done pouting. He took my hand and led me further down the road.

He took my hand. Like he was holding it. "Is this okay?" he asked, looking at our intertwined hands and back at me. His blue eyes were full of worry, as if he was scared that he made a move that would frighten me. 

"This is great," I smiled. All of the worry previously in his eyes disappeared. I looked up at the tall boy, who was smiling. We helped each other pick apples with our hands intertwined the entire way. I filled my bag to the top, because I wanted to make apple crisp and still have apples to eat with the family. We walked back, hand in hand. Ben ended up taking my apple bag because it was too heavy for me. 

On our way back, Ben asked for a young couple to take a couple pictures of us. It took a couple minutes for us to be picture ready. We took some holding hands, some silly ones, and some cute ones. Ben thanked the couple and put his phone back in his pocket.

We got back to the stand and Ben put my bag on the scale. It was a pound per every half kilogram. I had about ten kilos, so it was twenty pounds. I passed over the money, and Ben paid for his apples as well. With a goodbye to Alden, we were back into his car. "How does lunch sound?" Ben asked, starting the car and pulling out onto the dirt road. 

"Sounds great!" I said. "Where are we going?"

"Surprise, Anna, you should know that by now," he laughed. He took one of his hands off of the steering wheel and held mine over the center console. 

"Am I going to like it?" I asked.

"Of course." We were in the outskirts of Doncaster, along a busy street. Ben pulled into a parking area that looked quite sketchy. I was hesitant on getting out of the car. The parking lot was quite empty, and everything just looked a little rundown. "Anna, I promise, it's amazing. It's the restaurant my father owns," Ben took my hand and led me into the restaurant. I did not catch the name of it. The door we used went straight into the kitchen. 

"Ben! How are you doing buddy?" A man who looked in his thirties asked. He was cooking food on the stove.

"I'm great, Antonio! And you?" Ben conversed with the man. Ben introduced me, and told me the man was the head chef at the restaurant. We went out to the dining area, and Ben caught up with a hostess that led us to a table and got us menus. We both ordered waters for drinks. I started to look over the menu. 

"For an appetizer, we have to get the mozzarella sticks, they're genuinely the best you'll ever have," Ben said, pointing to them on the menu. I told him that I loved them. I ordered chicken pesto, because Ben told me that it was amazing as well. We got the mozzarella sticks which were as amazing as Ben had said. They came with homemade marinara. I could've eaten six plates of them. We chatted and ate once our main dishes came out. I continued to praise Ben on the food. Ben told me that his father's side was Italian, his grandmother was native from there.

"Not to be rude, but don't most Italians name their children with Italian names?" I asked.

"Well, my parents decided to compromise on the first two kids, Gabe, and Juliet, then for me and Luke, they decided that my mom would pick my name, Ben, and my dad pick's Luke's, which is actually Luciano, or bringer of light."

"That's so cool," I said in awe. I wish my parents were more creative than Annabelle Joyce.

"Juliet is Italian- originated in France- but my mom liked it. It means 'youthful'. Gabe is a compromise from Gabriele, meaning 'God is my strength'. I always wished as a kid that I had a Italian background to my name."

"I think your name suits you," I said, genuinely. Ben gave me a small smile. Once we both finished our food, we went back to his car. We drove out of town once again, to another small farm. This time it was a pumpkin patch. 

We walked hand in hand to the field, and I took a picture of our matching boots and our hands and posted it to Instagram.

@annabellemoore: matching boots & a fun day with a fun guy @benhavard 

I picked a smaller pumpkin, where Ben picked a pretty big one. Once we paid, he told me that if I was okay with it, we could go back to his house and paint the pumpkins. I agreed, and he took me to his house. The house looked older, but big. Ben took me inside, holding my hand. We took our dirty boots off at the door. 

"Do you want a tour?" 

"Sure!" he led me throughout the house. His older brother, Gabe, and sister, Juliet, were not there because they were both in University. After the tour of the marvelous house, we went back outside to get our pumpkins. We went back inside, pumpkins in tow, and put them up onto his island. 

"I'll be right back, I need to go grab the paints and such," Ben left. I took a seat on a stool, awkwardly looking through social media before someone walked in that was not Ben. He looked exactly like Ben though.

"Woah- um hi. You must be Annabelle. I'm Luke, Ben's brother," he said, obviously shocked by me being here. "I was just getting a snack." Luke went into the fridge and got some food before sneaking out as quickly as he came in. 

Next I knew, a couple was walking into the kitchen. "Oh! You must be Annabelle. Ben speaks very highly and graciously of you," the woman says. I was not expecting to meet the entire family. "I'm Jess, and this is Angelo."

"Nice to meet you," I said. I tried to be as polite as possible. 

"Got them! Sorry it took me so long- hi ma, pa," Ben said, walking into the kitchen.

"Hi Ben, well, we'll let you get to it. Nice meeting you Annabelle," Ben's father said, as they both walked out of the room.

"What did they say?" Ben asked worriedly.

"Nothing of worry, just that you spoke very 'highly and graciously' of me," I smiled, doing air quotations with my fingers. Ben rolled his eyes and laughed. We both started to paint the pumpkins, I was painting a design with a fall color scheme. We had calm music playing in the background, and we both finished very quickly. After our masterpieces were finished, Ben drove me back to the house.

I thanked him for a great day, and went inside with my apples. I took off my boots and went into the kitchen to put my apples in the fridge. My phone dinged, and I noticed a Facebook notification.

Ben Havard: I had such an amazing day with this girl! @annabellemoore xx

There were four pictures attached, two from apple picking, the one I posted on Instagram of our boots and hands, and one of our finished pumpkins. 

I favorited and replied to the tweets showing my thanks. 

"How was your date?" Louis came downstairs. 

"Great," I said, not thinking of the question being asked. Suddenly, Niall, Liam, Harry, and Zayn came running down the stairs and standing behind Louis.

"It was a date!" they all said at different times. 

"Maybe it was," I laughed fondly.


End file.
